A U.S. Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launching station sits at the ready in Israel on March 4, 2019. The Army budget proposal for 2027 aims to expand the United States’ industrial base’s ability to produce critical munitions — including Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor missiles. (Cory Payne/U.S. Air Force)
The Army asked Congress for a record $252.8 billion in fiscal 2027 in a budget request that seeks to speed transformation initiatives across combat units, grow its force size and implement housing improvements, according to budget documents released Tuesday.
The Army requested a 23.9% budget increase over fiscal 2026 in its share of President Donald Trump’s landmark $1.5 trillion Pentagon spending ask for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. The request would increase the total Army by 18,300 troops and provide all soldiers with a pay raise of at least 5%.
Maj. Gen. Rebecca McElwain, the Army’s budget director, told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that the service’s budget request was a “deliberate, generational investment” in soldiers’ combat capabilities and their qualities of life that comes as the service undertakes its “most significant modernization in over 40 years.”
“The FY27 budget request is the transformation cornerstone that enables the Army to modernize,” McElwain said. “Every dollar in this request is deliberately allocated to create a more lethal, modern and resilient force – one that can deter our adversaries, defend the homeland and decisively win our nation’s wars, all while honoring our commitment to soldiers and the American taxpayer.”
The budget aims to expand the United States industrial base’s ability to produce critical munitions more rapidly. Those include Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor missiles that have been depleted in recent engagements with Iran. It also invests heavily in next-generation weapons systems, like the MV-75 Cheyenne II tiltrotor helicopter, the M1E3 Abrams hybrid-electric main battle tank and the XM-30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle. Prototypes of those vehicles – which are expected to at least partially replace the UH-60 Black Hawk, the M1A2 Abrams and the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, respectively, are expected to be fielded in the coming years.
The active-duty Army would grow by about 15,000 soldiers to a force of 469,000 authorized troops. The Army Reserve would remain at about 175,000 soldiers, and the Army National Guard would grow by 3,300 soldiers to an end strength of 331,300.
“The Army’s end strength growth is focused on generating a more lethal and resilient force centered on multi domain and fires-based capabilities,” McElwain said.
Force expansion is expected to include increases in jobs like air defense and field artillery, cyber and intelligence forces and those focused on countering drones, she said.
The budget request would fund a 7% pay raise for troops in the rank of sergeant and below, a 6% pay raise for soldiers from staff sergeant to captain, and a 5% raise for officers in the rank of major and higher, according to the documents.
Soldiers would also see a 3.9% boost to Basic Allowance for Housing rates and a 3.4% increase in Basic Allowance for Subsistence, according to the service.
The budget request, which calls for a 10% reduction in military construction spending from 2026, includes about $8 billion for improvements to barracks and another $11.2 billion to “mitigate poor and failing facilities, ensuring [the Army] provides the clean, safe, and functional housing its soldiers deserve,” according to budget documents.
The Army’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request includes:
$2.3 billion for the MV-75 Cheyenne II tiltrotor helicopter program, which the Army aims to field by 2030.
$1.9 billion for systems to defend against small drones.
$474 million for the M1E3 Abrams hybrid-electric main battle tank program, which the Army will begin testing later this year.
$31.8 billion to expand production capacity for critical munitions, including Precision Strike Missiles, Long-Ranger Hypersonic Weapons, Guided Multiple Launched Rocket Systems, 155 mm artillery shells, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and Patriot missile interceptors, Next Generation Squad Weapon ammunition and Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles.
$4 billion for modernization efforts at 23 organic industrial base sites.
$1.2 billion to purchase 196 Armored Multi-purpose vehicles.
$547 million for the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle program, including production of 19 XM30s, which are intended to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle by the late 2020s.
$1.1 billion for Army border and domestic operations.
$200 million for artificial intelligence and automation efforts.
$48 million for the Army’s Janus Program to develop prototype micronuclear reactors.
