By Olawale Abaired, Warrior Contributor
Department of the Air Force is requesting $217.5 billion for FY25, marking a 1.1 percent increase over the ’24 President’s Budget Request. The Air Force’s budget of $188.1 billion represents a 1.6 percent increase over the ’24 request, while the Space Force’s budget of $29.4 billion indicates a 2 percent decrease from the ’24 request.
Major General Mike A. Greiner, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Budget), provided further details on the appropriation level. The Department’s Fiscal Year ’25 RDT&E budget request is $56.4 billion, a $1 billion increase over the Fiscal Year ’24 requested position. This growth underscores the Department’s commitment to making the necessary investments to implement the National Defense Strategy.
Furthermore, the Air Force’s RDT&E Fiscal Year ’25 budget request is $37.7 billion, marking a 4.1 percent increase over the Fiscal Year ’24 requested position. This budget request includes $3.7 billion for the Sentinel Program, $2.7 billion for the B-21 Raider program, and $623 million for the long-range standoff weapon program.
In addition, the Space Force’s RDT&E Fiscal Year ’25 budget request, which accounts for 63 percent of the Space Force’s total budget, is $18.7 billion- a 2.6 percent decrease from the Fiscal Year ’24 requested position.
The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that Operation and Maintenance (O&M) is the largest appropriation, making up 37 percent or $80.8 billion of the overall Department’s budget requests. O&M funds are critical to sustaining readiness, building resiliency, and enhancing our warfighting posture.
The Fiscal Year ’25 Space Force O&M budget request increases to $5.2 billion, including $1.4 billion to support weapons system sustainment at 81 percent of the requirement, maintaining 52 weapon systems.
Moreover, the DoD continues to implement resilient architectures and an integrated deterrence approach to strengthen the Space Force’s ability to operate in a highly contested environment. The Fiscal Year ’25 budget request aims to modernize the SATCOM enterprise, both strategic and tactical capabilities.
SATCOM Enterprise Modernization
The budget request includes an additional $413 million for the Evolved Strategic SATCOM program, which provides global secure, jam-resistant, and survivable SATCOM for Presidential and National Command authorities.
Furthermore, $237 million has been allocated to initiate the Protected Tactical SATCOM Global Program (PTSG). The PTSG will disaggregate the X and Ka-band capabilities on separate satellites in geostationary earth orbit.
An increase of $267 million in funding is requested for missile warning and missile tracking capabilities. This funding will continue to build out a proliferated architecture across low and medium Earth orbits to detect and track advanced missile launch signatures.
For the Air Force, the budget request provides $5.9 billion to procure 42 F-35s, six less than planned for in the Fiscal Year ’24 budget requests in Fiscal Year ’25.
Additionally, $1.8 billion is requested to procure 18 F-15EXs, six less than planned for in the Fiscal Year ’24 budget requests and Fiscal Year ’25. This budget request continues to make gains in the Air Force’s global strike core function, adding $353 million to the B21 Raider program.
Through significant investments in research, development, and procurement, the Department of Defense is poised to advance its capabilities in the face of evolving global threats, ensuring the lethality and survivability of its forces in highly contested environments.
OLAWALE ABAIRE is a researcher, writer and analyst who has written over 75 nonfiction books, He has master’s degree in Biochemistry from Adekunle Ajasin University, Nigeria. He also works as a web content writer with the revered International Lean Six Sigma Institute, UK
