US military pushes for boost in 2027 spending on drones and air defenses used in Iran war

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military officials on Tuesday called for spending tens of billions of dollars in the next budget year on drones, air defense systems and fighter jets that have been a key part of fighting the Iran war.

As part of President Donald Trump’s push to boost defense spending to $1.5 trillion in the 2027 budget, the Pentagon wants to triple spending on drones and related technology to more than $74 billion and invest over $30 billion into more critical munitions, including missile interceptors, whose stockpiles have become critically low during the Iran war.

Military officials said the spending blueprint was developed before the conflict in the Middle East. They also did not discuss how much they will request in additional funds for the war, which would be on top of what the White House is seeking to boost defense spending in the next budget year.

“The overlap, you’ll see, is the request for munitions, which is something we always need,” Jules Hurst III, acting undersecretary of defense and the Pentagon’s comptroller, told reporters at a briefing. “We always need to increase our magazine depth. But outside of that, there aren’t any operational costs in here from Iran.”

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