The Biden administration has submitted its fiscal year 2023 budget request of $773 billion for the Department of Defense.
The request is only a 2% increase when factoring in the $14 billion Congress added to DOD spending to relocate Afghan refugees and send aid to Ukraine, and the percentage increase drops to 1.5% when adjusting for inflation. Republicans called for a 5% increase above inflation.
“It preserves our readiness and deterrent posture against the threats we face today: the acute threat of an aggressive Russia and the constantly emerging threats posed by North Korea, Iran, and violent extremist organizations,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “Our budget reflects our National Defense Strategy and the focus of that strategy on the pacing challenge of China.”
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After a year in which the department participated in the COVID-19 response, Afghanistan evacuations, and the efforts to support Ukraine, the department is looking forward with the budget.
Specifically, the Army requested $178 billion, a slight boost from the year before, and it plans to reduce the size of the active force, though it will continue to “maintain a very high state of readiness,” Army Secretary Gabe Camarillo said in a budget briefing, according to Defense News.
“If you look just at the last year in review, what did the Army accomplish? It’s utterly remarkable. Everything from COVID-19 response … disaster response here at home, support to Operation Allies Welcome and helping to process the displaced Afghans coming out of that mission,” he added. “Then, of course, our response to Ukraine and to the invasion by Russia and providing support to our NATO partners in Europe.”
The Army’s enacted fiscal year-end strength was 485,000 for the active-duty force, with a goal to reduce it to roughly 473,000. The plan is to get the number back to where it was within the next five years, Camarillo said.
“The reason why is in order to make sure that we are maintaining our emphasis on high-quality talent. We are looking at making sure that we fill the needs of cutting-edge formations in the Army like our Multidomain Task Forces,” he added, noting that the decision was “not budget-driven.”
Additionally, the Air Force has asked Congress to retire 150 aircraft in the budget, while also asking for the funding to buy 82 new ones. Their request looks to replace the A-10, F-22, E-3 AWACS, E-8 joint STARS, C-130H, T-1 Trainer, KC-135, and the MQ-9 airplanes. In its place, the department is hoping to procure additional F-35, F-15EX, B-21 bombers, KC-46A, HH-60W, and the MH-139.
Their budget is “more about transformation now than it is about evolutionary change. What drives that is the threat. We need to move aggressively,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters before the budget rollout, according to Defense One.
Comparatively, the Navy, which is requesting $180.5 billion, is looking to decommission 24 ships, and if Congress allows that to occur, it would save $3.6 billion over the next five years, Rear Adm. John Gumbleton told reporters on Monday. Sixteen of those ships would be retired “somewhat early,” he added.
Slightly less than $6 billion was requested for the “third and final year of incremental funding” for Columbia-class submarines, $5 billion to fund two destroyers, and $6.6 billion for two Block V fast-attack boats, among other requests.
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The Marine Corps’ share of the budget is slightly above $50 billion, a 1.8% increase from the enacted level this year, and it would receive more money in operations and maintenance in addition to research and development while its procurement funds would be cut slightly, according to Politico.
The Space Force is looking to get $24.5 billion, which would be roughly a 40% increase from last year’s request, while Kendall added, “There’s no more important services than missile warning and the nuclear command-and-control capability we get from space.”
