The Pentagon is requesting $500 million to replenish stockpiles used to support Taiwan, the department's first budget request. But the ultimate goal is to pair that request with additional funding that has stalled in Congress.
The funding request immediately singles out China as a pacing challenge and emphasizes larger efforts in the Indo-Pacific to strengthen relationships and spending to support allies and partners. The Pentagon also requests about $10 billion for enhanced ballistic missile activities, military exercises, training and testing, cyber operations support and the deployment of autonomous systems to support Guam, according to budget documents.
For Taiwan, Congress previously authorized $1 billion a year to replenish the withdrawal funds. The Pentagon wanted to meet that standard, but held off because of $10 billion in cuts mandated by Congress as part of the 2023 debt ceiling deal that would cap defense. The amount spent is $895 billion.
“Right now, the funding is in the Senate supplement that's pending with the House, and I think there's $1.9 billion that could be covered over about two years,” a senior defense official told reporters. “So [$500 million] I thought it was a good start. But if the Senate bill becomes law, that momentum will only get stronger. ”
The budget request comes amid a multifaceted funding battle with Congress, which recently passed its fifth stopgap spending bill of the year. The White House and Pentagon also called on Congress to finalize requests for additional funding. The Senate passed a $95 billion bill for foreign aid and U.S. military operations overseas, but the House passed a much smaller $66 billion bill that omitted humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. proposed a bill. The supplement also includes funding for new investments in the Indo-Pacific region and undersea industrial bases.
Without this, the Pentagon warns, there will be “real and problematic consequences” that go beyond money.
“Obviously, for the Ukrainians, first and foremost, they are running out of ammunition today, they are fighting and dying today. If we cannot help them, the only industrial base that can replace us is the planet Earth. There is nothing else above,” the official said.
But it would also block unexpected spending in fiscal year 2024 for expanded operations in the Middle East, including the military's response to the Houthi offensive in the Red Sea.
“So we will be looking at shortfalls in all sorts of issues, including CENTCOM operating costs, European operating costs, support for Ukraine, Taiwan and other Pacific partners, and the subsea industrial base,” the official said. Stated.
The Pentagon says about $10 billion has been spent on military support and supplies to Ukraine to date, in addition to the Army and Navy “burning costs” every day for operations in Europe and the Central Communications Agency, respectively. states that there is a shortage.
“We couldn't do that with the money we got today… We couldn't replenish everything we've already given to Ukraine,” the official said. “So even if we don't get new funding, some of it will come back to us through our own preparedness and stockpiling.”
The Pentagon did not ask for additional funding in its 2025 budget request.
Plan to spend on next-generation technology
Roughly $142 billion will be spent on research and development, slightly more than the $139 billion expected in 2024. The Pentagon also plans to spend about $17 billion on basic research and advanced technology.
About $3 billion will be spent on large-scale technology initiatives, including $1.8 billion for artificial intelligence and $1.4 billion for a unified communications initiative called Complex Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2). The latter involves a major effort by the Department of Defense and military agencies. The Directorate General for AI and Data's Global Information Domination (GIDE) experiment. Army Project Convergence Event. Navy Project Overmatch. Air Force Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). Senior military officials told reporters about several efforts undertaken by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Approximately $2.5 billion and CHIPS Act funds are also being committed to microelectronics supply chain efforts.
The Department of Defense has long said it wants to work with innovative companies, such as startups with cutting-edge technology, and has committed $144 million to the Office of Strategic Capital to accelerate development in key areas. It plans to inject funds from private investors.
The Pentagon also wants about $34 billion for space capabilities, including commercial operations and command and control. About $4.2 billion will be spent on satellite communications and $4.7 billion on missile warning systems.
Cyber activities will increase by $14.5 billion in 2024, with enhancements to cyber task force training (which had been criticized), data protection, and zero trust, with about $1 billion added to the latter, according to budget documents. is.
