The Department of Defense (DoD) will be asking for a budget of $585 billion for fiscal year 2016, according to a draft Pentagon comptroller document obtained by Politico. This amount represents $38 billion more than the budget which DoD has been operating under as a result of sequestration.
In order for DoD’s budget amount to be approved, Congress will need to agree to suspend or discontinue sequestration. DoD’s five-year budget plans call for ramping up base defense spending to $570 billion in 2020.
According to the draft budget documents, DoD will request $209.8 billion in funding for operations and maintenance, an increase of $14.5 billion from this fiscal year. The proposal would also increase procurement spending by $14.1 billion to $107.7 billion, and research and development funding by $6.3 billion to $69.8 billion.
Among the projects included in the Pentagon’s draft FY16 budget are:
- Three new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS),
- LCS capabilities improvements,
- Two Virginia-class attack submarines,
- Refueling of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier,
- The Ohio-class replacement nuclear submarine program,
- The KC-46A tanker program,
- A new long-range bomber,
- The MQ-9 Reaper procurement, and
- 57 F-35 fighter jets.
