Pentagon Budget 2026: DoD RDT&E would see major boost via reconciliation funding

DoD RDT&E funding from FY 2022 to FY 2026. (US Department of Defense)

The US Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking USD142 billion for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) activities in its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request, according to budget documents. This figure could grow to USD179.1 billion with the addition of USD37.1 billion via the congressional budget reconciliation legislation. This would be a significant increase over the USD141.4 billion authorised for RDT&E in FY 2025.

Over the last five years, RDT&E funding has increased significantly, growing from USD119.5 billion in FY 2022 to USD140.9 billion in FY 2023 and USD149.5 billion in FY 2024.

Military services

RDT&E funding has remained fairly stable across the services, with large increases for the US Air Force (USAF) and US Space Force (USSF) provided in the reconciliation bill, budget documents indicate.

Baseline funding for army RDT&E is USD14.5 billion, increasing to USD15.4 billion with reconciliation funding, the documents said. This brings it above the FY 2022 level of USD14.7 billion but below the USD17.1 billion allocated in both FY 2023 and FY 2024. USD14.4 billion for RDT&E was authorised in FY 2025.

US Navy (USN) RDT&E is set at USD25.7 billion in FY 2026, increasing to USD29.2 billion with reconciliation funding, according to budget documents. This is an increase over FY 2025, which saw USD26 billion enacted for USN RDT&E. This was a decline from the USD28 billion enacted in FY 2024. USD26.2 billion was authorised in FY 2023 and USD22 billion in FY 2022.