U.S. President Donald Trump’s defence and national security budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, released Wednesday, outlines a strategic realignment of priorities—emphasising advanced missile systems, troop pay increases, and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, while reducing procurement of ships, fighter jets, and civilian defence jobs.
The proposed $892.6 billion package remains flat compared to the previous year, with the Pentagon’s share totalling $848.3 billion. Additional funding supports nuclear programmes under the Department of Energy and enhanced homeland security measures.
The White House stated that the budget aims to strengthen the U.S. defence industrial base and counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific. A 3.8% pay raise for military personnel is included, while operational costs are trimmed by retiring outdated platforms such as the A-10 Warthog fleet.
However, significant reductions are also proposed. The Navy would cut 7,286 civilian jobs and limit shipbuilding to only three new warships in this request. Procurement of other vessels, including a Virginia-class submarine and 15 additional ships, will be handled under a separate appropriation bill.
Trump’s request also scales back the number of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets to 47—down from the 68 requested in President Biden’s 2025 budget. In response, a House draft bill is pushing to increase the F-35 order to 69.
A senior defence official clarified that the Pentagon’s controversial “Golden Dome” missile defence shield was not part of this primary submission but would be addressed separately. That project is receiving an initial $25 billion through the Republican-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” already passed by the House.
Despite the cuts in certain areas, the budget reinforces investment in next-generation munitions. The Air Force will continue funding long-range missiles like the JASSM-ER and LRASM, particularly relevant for operations in the Pacific. The proposal, however, reduces orders for the Precision Strike Missile, the successor to the ATACMS system currently used in Ukraine.
Spending on small, tactical drones is set to rise, driven in part by lessons from the Ukraine conflict, where unmanned aerial vehicles have proven both cost-effective and tactically significant.
As Congress debates the broader $150 billion defence package, Trump’s proposal has triggered early discussions over the shape of U.S. military strategy—balancing fiscal restraint, deterrence, and modernisation in a shifting global landscape.
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Qarabağ FK is facing Ajax in a key Champions League league phase match at the Tofiq Bəhramov Stadium in Baku.
Uzbekistan will introduce a nationwide system to assess the resilience of officials and civil service candidates to corruption risks from 2026, according to a presidential decree adopted this week.
Military coups have reappeared across West Africa and the Sahel. Recent events in Guinea-Bissau and coup attempt in Benin add to a growing list of abrupt power shifts over the past five years.
Hate speech targeting Muslims and Christians in India surged by 74% in 2024, driven by election-season rhetoric and unrest in neighboring Bangladesh, according to a new report from the India Hate Lab, a Washington-based research organization.
Scores of demonstrators gathered outside the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo Tuesday (9 December) to protest against the awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Pressure is mounting between Venezuela and the United States as both nations emphasise military preparedness and strategic positioning.
Iran and Saudi Arabia reiterated their commitment to enhance ties following a joint meeting with China in Tehran on Tuesday to follow up on implementation of the 2023 Beijing Agreement which resulted in resumption of their diplomatic relations after eight years.
Tanzania's government warned on Monday that protests scheduled for Tuesday would be illegal and amounted to an attempted coup, as security forces were heavily deployed in major cities.
The world’s leading minds and voices will be honoured on Wednesday, 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, as Nobel Prizes are presented in Stockholm and Oslo.
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Ukraine faces a narrowing diplomatic space as pressure builds around U.S. backed peace proposals, warning that the structure of the conflict may leave little room to avoid difficult territorial choices.
Democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in order to survive, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said on Wednesday, in a speech delivered by her daughter during a ceremony Machado could not attend.
The possibility of restricting social media access for children is a hot topic in the European Union and the United Kingdom, after Australia implemented a world-first ban for those under 16. Lawmakers have labelled the ban a “real-world test” of how far governments can go to protect young people.
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