The Air Force plans to start buying thousands of advanced new handheld radios in 2027 for downed aircrew to communicate with search-and-rescue forces, a capability spotlighted earlier this year during the recovery of two aviators shot down in Iran.
2027 budget
The cost of operations against Iran has risen to $29 billion, a senior Pentagon official told lawmakers May 12, a $4 billion increase from the Department of Defense’s last public estimate two weeks ago.
The Air Force is planning to spend $2.19 billion over the next five years to acquire new C-37 jets for transporting military and civilian leaders. That’s on top of another $1.17 billion in projected funding for the VC-25B “Air Force One” replacement.
The Space Force plans to stand up a Mission Operations Center to manage the backbone of its hybrid commercial-government data transport constellation, the Space Data Network.
Research and development spending on the Air Force’s sixth-generation F-47 fighter and its advanced propulsion system is expected to peak in 2028 before dropping in the following years, according to Air Force budget documents.
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned ...
The Air Force is seeking funding to let its pilots fly a little more than 1.1 million hours in fiscal 2027, which would be the most in about four years. But even if Airmen actually do fly all 1.1 million hours, it would still be ...
The war in Iran has cost about $25 billion so far, Pentagon officials told Congress on April 29, providing the first public estimate of the cost of Operation Epic Fury.
The Space Force plans to expand the scope of its data transport constellation in the next few years, kick-starting a competition to bring on new commercial capabilities and procuring nine launches in fiscal 2027 to support the hybrid satellite communications network.
The Space Force is proposing to cancel a $3.4 billion program intended to provide missile warning and tracking coverage of the northern polar region as part of its 2027 budget request.
The Air Force is planning to invest nearly $1.7 billion to continue modernizing the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers over the next five years, revising earlier plans to retire those aircraft before the B-21 Raider is fielded in bulk.
The Air Force is more than doubling the planned size of its new F-15EX Eagle II fleet, increasing the number of fighters it aims to buy from 129 to 267.