The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed a bill that would appropriate $831.5 billion in defense funding for fiscal year 2026.
Defense Procurement
The FY 2026 defense appropriations bill, which was introduced Monday, would allocate $174 billion for the Department of Defense’s procurement initiatives.
The measure includes $8.5 billion for 69 F-35 fighter jets; $1.2 billion for four E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft; $2.02 billion for 19 CH-53K heavy transport helicopters; $3.8 billion for B-21 procurement; and $2.7 billion for 15 KC-46s.
The proposed legislation would spend $36.9 billion for 28 ships, including one Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, two Virginia-class fast attack submarines and two DDG-51 guided missile destroyers; $1.5 billion for the Maritime Industrial Base to invest in supplier capability and capacity; and $1.6 billion for productivity enhancements to improve shipbuilder capability.
R&D, Test and Evaluation
DOD and military services would receive $148 billion in research, development, test and evaluation funds under the bill.
The measure proposes $4.2 billion for 6th-generation aircraft, $2.1 billion for the continued development of the B-21 bomber and $1.8 billion for the Air Force’s Survivable Airborne Operations Center.
DOD Operations & Maintenance
The appropriations bill would provide $283 billion for DOD’s operations and maintenance support.
The legislation includes $9.6 billion for U.S. Special Operations Command’s operation and maintenance requirements; $55 million for U-2 programmed depot maintenance; and $70 million for Apex Accelerators.
