Pentagon Budget 2026: US Navy targets manned and unmanned vessel programmes for research and development

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford is shown here launching aircraft. The FY 2026 US Navy budget request asks for additional research funding for the launching system. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

The proposed US Navy (USN) fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget requests about USD29.2 billion for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) that includes a variety of efforts to fund programmes for manned and unmanned vessels and systems, according to USN budget documents released on 25 June.

The total RDT&E request includes about USD3.5 billion in reconciliation funding that must be separately approved by Congress, the documents show.

The proposed FY 2026 budget requests USD2.7 billion for the USN science and technology (S&T) programmes, according to the documents.

This amount includes a request for USD312 million in FY 2026 for the Columbia-class strategic-missile submarine (SSBN) programme research and development (R&D) efforts for ship design and development including nuclear propulsion system development, the documents show.

The request also includes USD239 million for Virginia-class attack submarine (SSN) R&D efforts to provide for the continued advanced payload integration, advanced acoustic sensors, and future blocks concept designs, the documents show.

“FY 2026 will support revised scoping and cadence of design efforts to align Block VII development with ship construction schedules,” the USN said in the budget documents.

The USN needs a production cadence for more than two SSNs per year to meet US and international agreement requirements, but current production rates are only reaching a bit more than one SSN per year, according to USN and shipbuilder officials.

The USN also wants about USD623 million in FY 2026 to invest in the development of the next-generation SSN(X)-class submarine.