The Pentagon's proposed fiscal 2027 budget blueprint is seeking 85 Lockheed Martin Corp. fighter jets -- up from 47 requested last year -- in a significant boost for the largest US weapons program.
The Air Force is the program's largest customer and the breakdown includes 38 of the F-35A version of the jet for that branch, in addition to 10 F-35B short-takeoff and vertical-landing Marine Corps jets and 37 F-35C aircraft carrier models, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
The F-35 numbers are part of a budget request from President Donald Trump that is asking lawmakers to approve $1.5 trillion for defense, a massive increase that's paired with sharp cuts to domestic programs. Details on the F-35s will be among the most scrutinized elements of military hardware within the administration's blueprint.
Friday's budget plan comes with the US-Israeli war on Iran well into its second month and polls showing significant numbers of Americans uncertain about the president's handling of the conflict. F-35C jets from the USS Abraham Lincoln are currently flying missions in operations over Iran.
Overall, the $1.5 trillion sought is broken up into a $1.15 trillion base request and additional $350 billion from a forthcoming reconciliation bill that Congress will fund on a separate legislative track than the established appropriations path. Thirty-two F-35s are slated to be paid for through the base budget, with the remaining jets covered in the reconciliation bill.
The Pentagon accounts for 95% -- about $1.45 trillion -- of the broader national security request, with the remainder for other agencies or programs, such as nuclear weapons development and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The proposal represents a 42% increase in national security spending over what Congress enacted for this fiscal year, OMB says.
While the Pentagon is slated to release fuller details on April 21, including five-year projections not released last year, Friday's documents provide insight into the changes. It's the first time the base defense budget is at $1 trillion. OMB says it will raise defense spending to 4.5% of gross domestic product from about 3.2% last year.
The Pentagon's base budget requests about $260 billion for procurement and about $220 billion for research, development, testing and evaluation accounts, compared with $205 billion and $179 billion respectively for this fiscal year's request, according to OMB.
One of most-watched elements in the defense request is funding for the Golden Dome missile and air defense umbrella Trump is looking to put into place by the end of his second term.
The budget requests $17.5 billion for research and development on the project for fiscal 2027, OMB said. Of that, $400 million will be requested in the base request with $17.1 billion in reconciliation.
The Golden Dome request "supports development of game-changing space-based missile defense sensors and interceptors, kinetic and non-kinetic missile defeat and defense capabilities, and enabling technologies for a layered, next-generation homeland missile defense system," the budget office said.