- Critical spending legislation moving through Congress would increase the Pentagon’s RDT&E budget by $6.5 billion
- It would also increase the Pentagon’s overall budget by $8.4 billion
- Join the conversation on what the extra money would mean for the DOW at the 2026 Defense R&D Summit this Thursday—Jan. 29!
Critical must-pass spending legislation moving through Congress would boost the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2026 research, development, test and evaluation budget by $6.5 billion to a total of $148 billion, according to the compromise bill produced by the House and Senate appropriations committees.
The money, combined with the $37 billion in RDT&E money provided in FY 2026 from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law in 2025, would total a whopping $185 billion for the DOW in RDT&E funds this fiscal year. In comparison, the DOW received $141 billion for RDT&E in FY 2025.
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The bill would boost the Pentagon’s overall budget by $8.4 billion from the $830 billion it requested, according to Breaking Defense. The House passed the full year, defense, labor, Health and Human Services, education and Housing and Urban Development bill on Jan. 22. The legislation must be signed into law by President Trump by Jan. 30 before FY25 funding expires.
What Programs Will Benefit From the FY2026 RDT&E Boost?
Many key defense RDT&E programs will benefit from the extra money included in the conferenced spending bill. The Navy’s new fighter jet, F/A-XX, received $897 million more than the service requested in its FY26 budget.
The bill also provides roughly $26 billion overall for the Space Force. Combined with the $14 billion provided in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act from mid 2025, the service is set to receive about $40 billion in FY 2026, which is nearly twice as much as it received five years ago, according to Space News.
The legislation adds an additional $642 million to the Space Force acquisition budget, raising the service’s acquisition funds to more than $4 billion. Industry operators of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance spacecraft will benefit from $169 million for the Space Force to acquire services and products from commercial companies. This is an additional $132 million from the service’s roughly $37 million budget submission.
How Is the DOW Investing in C-UAS?
The appropriations committees, in their joint explanatory statement, directed Secretary of War and Wash100 Award winner Pete Hegseth to submit a report on counter unmanned aerial system RDT&E activities taking place throughout the department. The committees are concerned about the growing threat posed by drones, including loitering munitions and other advanced capabilities, to jeopardize national security. The DOW recently started a campaign to procure counter small UAS, or C-sUAS, capabilities.
Explore the details of Pentagon RDT&E spending at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Defense R&D Summit this Thursday—Jan. 29. Attend our multiple panels on how the DOW wants to use this increase in RDT&E funding to help critical emerging capabilities get through the perilous “valley of death” and into operators’ hands. Get your ticket today!
The committees commended the Navy on its big investment in the defense industrial base, especially in shipbuilding. It congratulated program managers who are leveraging commercial tools like off-the-shelf supply chain management software for their willingness to innovate.
The committees urged Navy Secretary John Phelan to evaluate enterprise-wide opportunities to use and scale firm-fixed-price COTS defense acquisition software-as-a-service. The goal is to fix consistent cost and schedule challenges that impact weapon systems through their lifetimes.
The appropriations news comes on the heels of President Trump announcing he wants a $1.5 trillion defense budget for FY 27. The president, in a Truth Social post, said this increase in military spending would be offset by the income created through tariffs.
