The US Department of Defense and Department of Energy have jointly requested over $100 billion in funding in the draft 2027 fiscal year budget of $1.5 trillion for defense, aiming to modernize America’s nuclear arsenal to address global tensions. In the 2027 budget proposal, the Pentagon earmarked $71.4 billion for upgrading the “nuclear triad” deterrent system, including submarines, bombers, and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), while the Department of Energy proposed $32.8 billion for nuclear weapons research and development.
If this over $100 billion “nuclear weapons program” budget is approved, it would increase nuclear spending by nearly $30 billion compared to the 2025 fiscal year budget, and by $17 billion more than the current authorization.
During a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence at the Pentagon, Air Force Major General Andrew Gebara, stated, “As the strategic environment becomes increasingly complex and challenging, the urgency of the threats we face is escalating.”
Gebara emphasized that the current era is not a return to the Cold War, highlighting the challenges posed by multiple nuclear-capable adversaries including China, North Korea, and potential future inclusion of Iran, while Russia continues to modernize and diversify its nuclear arsenal, frequently deploying tactical nuclear threats during the conflict in Ukraine.
Gebara and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Director Brandon Williams attended the hearing on the nuclear weapons budget, one of a series of hearings to finalize the annual federal budget before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1st.
Maintaining America’s “nuclear weapons program” is a shared mission of the Defense Department and Energy Department, with NNSA responsible for weapon development and stockpile maintenance, while the military focuses on training strategic forces to ensure the capability of nuclear deterrence and strikes.
A report from the Congressional Budget Office in 2023 highlighted that since the early 1990s post-Cold War era, the US has fallen behind in maintaining nuclear deterrence, particularly in the development of “assured second-strike capability” and tactical nuclear warfare, compared to Russia’s advancements in these areas.
The current policy of the Trump administration is dual-fold, with plans to potentially withdraw from the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty citing violations by Russia, China, and North Korea, and aiming to resume nuclear testing suspended for nearly 40 years by 2028.
The proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget for the 2027 fiscal year aims to increase military spending by 44% compared to the current year, with approximately $71.4 billion designated specifically for strategic forces, nearly $10 billion more than the 2026 fiscal year expenditure.
Within the $71.4 billion expenditure plan, detailed allocations for the nuclear triad systems – land-based missiles, air-launched weapons, and sea-based arms – include upgrades for nuclear warhead replacements, introduction of new cruise missile technology to diversify nuclear-capable forces, and allocating $20 billion for upgrading command and control communication systems.
Out of this planned $71.4 billion, $4.6 billion is earmarked to progressively replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental missiles with the newly developed Sentinel ICBMs by Northrop Grumman by the mid-2030s.
This funding is in addition to the $5.3 billion investment in the Sentinel ICBM after this year’s $2 billion allocated for the Minuteman missile maintenance.
Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Republican Congressman Scott DesJarlais mentioned his recent visit to the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, highlighting the aging Minuteman missile system developed in the 1950s and last updated in the 1970s, emphasizing the need for better equipment for the personnel maintaining the system.
Furthermore, the military budget request includes $6.1 billion for the B-21 Raider bombers, $2.9 billion for the F-47 fighters, and $16 billion for the AGM-181A stealthy nuclear-armed cruise missiles for deployment on B-52, B-21, and F-35 aircraft.
The B-21 Raider is deemed as the cornerstone of America’s future bomber fleet, demonstrating substantial progress during flight testing programs, and along with the LGM-35A Sentinel, plays a crucial role in ensuring the credibility of US nuclear deterrence for future generations.
Additionally, the 2027 fiscal year budget allocates $16.2 billion for the Columbia-class submarines and Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) upgrade program, exceeding the $11 billion approved expenditure in 2026 as part of a multi-decade project to deliver the first of 12 new strategic submarines by 2028 to replace the current Ohio-class submarine fleet.
“The strongest link in America’s nuclear triad is provided by sea-based strategic deterrence forces,” stated Vice Admiral Johnny Wolfe, Director of the US Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, emphasizing the focus on developing and deploying advanced SLBMs, nuclear-armed low-yield sea-based cruise missiles, and hypersonic technology to maintain US Navy’s competitive advantage in increasingly intense maritime warfare environments.
In addition to the Defense Department, the Energy Department is expected to receive a $53.9 billion budget in the 2027 fiscal year defense budget, with $32.8 billion specifically allocated to the NNSA. This request represents a $3.6 billion increase for NNSA’s budget while reducing $2.7 billion from non-defense appropriations passed this year.
Within this $32.8 billion, $8.8 billion is for modernizing production lines, $6.5 billion for stockpile stewardship, $4.9 billion to accelerate high uranium core construction, $655 million for upgrading the uranium supply chain, $290 million for completing a new uranium processing facility, $140 million for the annual cost of constructing the High Explosives Science and Engineering Facility at the Sandia National Laboratories’ Pantex plant in New Mexico, and over $27.4 million for weapon research and development.
During a hearing on April 21st before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that the NNSA plans to deliver a “record number of new weapons since the Cold War”. Wright stressed the need to increase high uranium core production capacity, acknowledging the slow progress in this area and emphasizing the importance of addressing the situation seriously.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) pointed out that many Americans would be surprised to learn that one of the Energy Department’s “most critical missions” is to safeguard and enhance the nation’s nuclear stockpile. Cotton explained, “This expenditure is a relatively small portion of our total budget. This is the first time we’ve actually put funds into these modernization projects, and these projects are indeed very necessary. Since we’ve had nuclear weapons, we’ve not had a conflict on the scale of World War II, and for good reason.”