The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 26-3 to pass a bill that would appropriate $851.9 billion in discretionary defense funding for fiscal year 2026.
Table of Contents
Weapons Systems Procurement
The committee said Thursday the proposed FY 2026 Defense Appropriations Act would allocate $171.3 billion for weapon systems procurement and $140.5 billion for platform research, development and testing.
The measure includes a $280 million increase in funding for F-135 spare engines and an additional $500 million for F-35 sustainment spare parts; an additional $216 million for drone and counter-drone tech capabilities; $4.6 billion more for air and missile defense efforts; and a funding increase of $5.2 billion to purchase additional munitions across the services.
Attend POC’s 2025 Navy Summit on Aug. 26, and hear experts discuss the service branch’s spending priorities, latest tech advancements and more. Reserve your spot now!
Navy Procurement, R&D Funding
The bill would provide $70.8 billion for the U.S. Navy’s procurement efforts and $27.4 billion for the service’s R&D initiatives.
The proposed legislation would provide a total of $29.3 billion in funding for shipbuilding efforts. The Columbia-class submarine program would receive an additional $1.3 billion, and the Virginia-class submarine program would receive $1.9 billion.
The Senate panel also approved a $1.4 billion budget increase for the Navy’s sixth-generation strike fighter program and an additional $100 million to advance the development of a hypersonic air-to-surface missile, called Multi-Mission Affordable Capacity Effector, for the service’s fixed-wing aircraft.
Space Force Procurement
U.S. Space Force would get $3.6 billion in procurement funding and another $15.1 billion for R&D initiatives.
The measure would provide $500 million in additional funding for the continued development of the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 3 Transport Layer and allocate $256 million more for classified space control initiatives.
Under the bill, efforts to transition the commercial procurement of tactical ISR to the Space Force would secure a $50 million funding increase.
Related Articles
NASA wants to team up with industry to develop advanced space technologies for future commercial or government use. The space agency on Wednesday issued an announcement of collaboration opportunity, or ACO, to solicit partnership proposals. Managed by the Space Technology Mission Directorate, the ACO gives industry partners access to NASA subject matter expertise, facilities, software and hardware to accelerate and enhance capability development. According to NASA, the ACO will be open for five years and will serve as an umbrella opportunity for topic-specific appendices that would be released every six to 12 months to address evolving needs. For the 2025
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., head of the Department of Health and Human Services, and other government and healthcare technology leaders have committed to delivering a patient-centric digital health ecosystem. At an event hosted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the White House, over 60 companies pledged to collaborate and deliver results that benefit the public in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, 11 health systems and providers said they will support patient use. Seven electronic health record companies pledged to facilitate data exchange. According to Kennedy, bureaucrats and entrenched interests have made health data inaccessible to patients,
The University of Dayton Research Institute, or UDRI, has booked a potential $98.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to conduct research focused on improving counter-targeting capabilities, the Department of Defense said Thursday. Air Force Contract Terms The cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract supports the development and refinement of emerging technologies in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and counter-targeting and counter-ISR capabilities. Under the terms of the contract, an initial task order valued at $22.7 million will be obligated. The funds will be sourced from the 2025 budget allocated for research, development, test, and evaluation. The Air Force Research Laboratory Wright Research