Air Force Munitions Gets Big Boost from Reconciliation
June 28, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak
The Air Force’s weapons procurement accounts—often used as a “bill-payer” for other priorities and to fill budget gaps—is poised for a major boost from the reconciliation package currently being debated by Congress. But without detailed budgetary information beyond fiscal 2026, it’s unclear whether the growth in stockpiles will be sustained.
The fiscal 2026 budget request released June 26 also saw the first-ever information on spending for the secret air-to-air AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, as well as on a new family of cruise missiles intended to be built at scale and at relatively low cost.
The Air Force spent $4.8 billion on munitions in fiscal 2024, a figure that fell to $2.57 billion in the ’25 budget. The ’26 request includes a modest rise in the base budget, to $2.85 billion, but with the reconciliation add of $1.94 billion, it rises all the way to $4.78 billion.
Budget documents released thus far by the Pentagon don’t include the traditional five-year spending plans, often called the Future Years Defense Plan or FYDP. Such plans are usually what weapons manufacturers use to help gauge their production capacity investments. It remains to be seen if the weapons spending surge will be the start of sustained growth, or a one-time, catch-up investment before a return to old habits of raiding the weapons accounts to cover other needs.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-munitions-budget-reconciliation/
