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| Home Front: Politix |
| The Pentagon wants a 188 percent bump for missile procurement. Can industry deliver? |
| 2026-04-15 |
| [BreakingDefense] With $70.5 billion in the FY27 budget request for munitions, a handful of analysts said they expect the Pentagon to spread the funding over several years and to fuel multiyear buys. Super Hose, whose manufacturing experience is broader, deeper, and much more recent than mine, said yesterday that increasing production would not be difficult. The Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal 2027 increases funding for missile procurement by 188 percent — a shocking spike in demand that experts agree completely outstrips the defense industry’s production capacity.As a result, the experts say, the Pentagon and Congress are likely to provide the ability to spend this year’s funding over multiple years, while sending a signal to industry that munitions are a long-term priority amid global uncertainty. "I think the Pentagon is viewing this as a generational budget, as something to try and overcome some of the longstanding challenges that existed and to essentially reposition the United States so that it does have the stockpiles it needs in the future," said Becca Wasser, the defense lead for Bloomberg Economics. That budget request, delivered to Congress earlier this month, calls for $1.5 trillion in defense spending for FY27 with $1.15 trillion in the base budget request and an additional $350 billion from a forthcoming reconciliation bill. (A separate supplemental funding request for operations in the Middle East could be forthcoming too.) Within that $1.5 trillion plan for FY27, budget documents broadly detail a roadmap for spending approximately $70.5 billion on missiles and other related line items — $36.6 billion for the Army, $22.6 billion for Navy weapons, and $11.3 billion for the Air Force. By comparison, the munitions figures for the three services combined were just under $20 billion in FY25 and $24.4 billion in FY26 — meaning FY27’s request is a 188 percent increase over what was approved for FY26. "This is a recognition of the fact that there is a munitions gap, that there is a problem with the US not having sufficient levels of some of its higher end munitions and recognition that they would need more, which isn’t something that we always hear from the Pentagon," Wasser said. "Ultimately, what this request does," Wasser said, "[is] it puts the onus on Congress. It says, ’Here’s what the Pentagon is willing to do. You’ve told us to be more steady in procurement. That’s what we’re going to do. Now you’ve got to fund it.’" A GAMBLE For several years Pentagon leaders have been eyeing ways to boost weapons numbers ahead of a potential military contingency with China, and as they watched Ukrainian and Russian forces burn through munition rounds. That sense of urgency has only intensified as US forces draw deep into stockpiles of key weapons like Tomahawk cruise missiles and PAC-3 interceptors for Operation Epic Fury against Iranian forces. Those pushes have taken several shapes, including gaining congressional approval to sign multiyear buys for certain weapons such as the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors. And, more recently, the Pentagon has inked a series of framework deals designed to boost munition production over the next seven years by having companies invest in their manufacturing facilities for programs like PAC-3 interceptors, the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), and seekers for both Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors and PAC-3 interceptors. While subsequent production contracts to actually buy more of those weapons have not yet been finalized, the Pentagon on Thursday awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.7 billion undefinitized contract action to begin work associated with the framework deal. Related: The Pentagon: 2026-04-14 US burned through major share of long range missiles in Iran war The Pentagon: 2026-04-11 FAA, Pentagon sign agreement on anti-drone laser system near Mexico The Pentagon: 2026-04-11 ‘America’s Retribution’: Operation Epic Fury Destroyed 80 to 90 Percent of Iran’s Weapons Factories, Air Defenses, Naval Fleet, and Nuclear Infrastructure, Pentagon Says |
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