The proposed U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) base budget for 2016 calls for spending $534.3 billion, up 7.7 percent over this year's enacted DOD budget of $496.1 billion, according to Pentagon budget documents. Federal fiscal year 2016 begins next October.
The proposed Pentagon budget for next year, released Monday, includes $50.9 billion for overseas contingency operations -- a $13.3 percent from current levels -- to pay for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas that involve the global war on terrorism. Now the DOD budget goes to Congress for consideration.
The 21-percent reduction in overseas contingency operations reflects "the end of the combat mission and the continued drawdown of forces in Afghanistan," DOD officials say. The budget includes $7.8 billion to repair and upgrade equipment used in military actions.
The proposed 2016 DOD budget would pay for overall U.S. military goals that include a pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, commitment to security and stability in Europe and the Middle East, countering violent extremists, investments in technology, and strengthening alliances and partnerships around the world, DOD officials say.
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Important components in the 2016 DOD budget proposal are modernizing the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal, space, missile defense, cyber security, and power projection. The budget moves away from sequestration-level military funding, which "would be irresponsible and dangerous, resulting in a force too small and ill equipped to respond to the full range of potential threats to the nation," according to a DOD statement.
The budget calls for funding for an alternative domestic space launch capability, and for advanced sensors, communications, and munitions, DOD officials say.
The budget asks Congress for $10.6 billion to buy 57 Lockheed Martin joint strike fighters; $3.4 billion for 16 Boeing P-8 maritime patrol jet aircraft; $1.3 billion for five E-2D carrier-based radar surveillance aircraft; $3 billion to develop the KC-46 airborne tanker; and $1.2 million for research in developing a new-generation long-range jet bomber.
The budget asks for $11.6 billion for nine new U.S. Navy surface ships; $678 million to overhaul the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73); $1.4 billion to develop a new-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine to replace the nation's Ohio-class missile submarines; and $55 million to support the Navy's littoral combat ship.
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Other proposed initiatives include $5.5 billion for cyber security; $1.6 billion for missile defense ground based interceptor reliability; $4.5 billion for U.S. Army combat helicopter modernization; and $821 million for additional MQ-9 Reaper attack drones.
Other areas of the proposed 2016 DOD budget contain funding for high-speed strike weapons; railgun development; positioning, navigation, and timing; and high-energy laser weapons.
The budget also calls for a reduction of 11,300 in active-duty military personnel to an active-duty strength of 1.3 million soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. The budget would fund 49 tactical fighter squadrons, 54 Army brigade combat teams, 14 ballistic missile submarines, 450 nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles; 96 jet bombers; and 304 Navy ships, including 11 aircraft carriers.
The Pentagon's 2016 budget request calls for $126.5 billion for the Army; $161.0 billion for the Navy and Marine Corps; and $152.9 billion for the Air Force. A proposed $94 billion for defense-wide activities would fund special operations, military intelligence, missile defense, and military research.
