Pentagon seeks record $338.8 billion for Air Force and Space Force to meet “challenges of today and tomorrow”

The Department of the Air Force on April 21 rolled out a $338.8 billion fiscal 2027 budget request, a jump of $92.5 billion over the current year that would channel more money into day-to-day readiness while accelerating some of the Pentagon’s most sensitive modernization programs across the Air Force and Space Force. The proposal represents a 38% increase over the FY26 enacted level and would allocate $267.7 billion to the Air Force and $71.1 billion to the Space Force.

“The Department of the Air Force’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request moves beyond the trade-off between modernization and readiness,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said. “We are funding both as concurrent priorities to ensure the force is ready to fight tonight, tomorrow, next week, next year, and next decade.”

Support documents framing the request cast the hike as essential to sustaining U.S. advantages in air and space. “This is not just about maintaining an edge; it is about expanding it,” a Department document supporting the request stated. “This budget ensures the Department of the Air Force remains the ultimate guarantor of our nation’s security, today and for decades to come.”

Air Force leaders said the plan drives up funding for flying hours, spare parts, munitions, maintenance and advanced training. “Our 2027 budget request funds our priorities of readiness, modernization and taking care of our Airmen and their families,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said. “Looking at readiness, it significantly increases accounts for flying hours, spare parts, munitions, maintenance, and advanced training that reflects the realities of today’s battlefield and tomorrow’s fight.”

Among big-ticket items, the department would continue the ground-based nuclear overhaul known as Sentinel, inject an additional $3 billion to speed development of the F-47 fighter, steer $2.7 billion into the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program—a $1.7 billion increase for the semi-autonomous wingman effort—and put $7 billion toward continued production of the B-21 long-range stealth bomber. The proposal seeks $7.4 billion (up $1.1 billion) to buy 38 F-35s and $3.9 billion for 15 KC-46A tankers. Another $2 billion would support large-scale exercises and training across both services. The Air Force is also asking for $600 million to “develop a family of affordable mass munitions,” expanding options for commanders in high-intensity conflicts.

The Space Force’s request would climb to $71.1 billion—up 124% from the current year—as the service scales to meet demand for space-based communications, missile warning, launch and domain control. The plan would add 2,800 Guardians, channel $6.7 billion into satellite communications (a 60% increase), and invest $6.8 billion in missile warning and tracking—a $2.9 billion, or 70%, boost. Space Control, one of the service’s three core functions, would receive $21.6 billion, a 158% increase from FY26, to “contest and control” the domain. Another $500 million would go to cyber operations to protect space assets, and National Security Space Launch funding would rise by $2.9 billion to procure 22 launches.

“As the past year has demonstrated, space is more vital than ever to our economic prosperity, our national security, and the lethality of the Joint Force,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said. “The proposed budget represents a generational opportunity to position the Space Force to win against the growing threats and demands our nation faces today and tomorrow.”

Across both services, personnel spending would increase by $2.5 billion to add 12,700 troops—9,900 in the Air Force and 2,800 in the Space Force—and provide pay raises on a sliding scale, including a 7% boost for the most junior enlisted ranks with smaller increases for more senior personnel.

“This is not just a budget; it is a deliberate, once-in-a-lifetime push to supercharge our defense industrial base, sharpen our readiness, and secure our air and space superiority,” the support document says. “This 38% increase over the FY26 enacted budget is a strategic choice to ensure we are ready for the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

The package now heads to Capitol Hill, where authorizers and appropriators will scrutinize program costs, production schedules and end-strength plans in hearings and markups that typically run through the summer. The size and scope of the request—particularly the sharp expansion of Space Force accounts and the acceleration of next-generation airpower programs—are likely to draw close attention. If Congress does not enact full-year appropriations by Oct. 1, a stopgap funding measure would keep spending at current levels and could slow the department’s planned ramps in procurement, training and space capabilities.