The Department of Defense Releases the President’s Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Budget
The Biden Administration submitted (May 29, 2021) to Congress the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget request of $752.9 billion for national defense.
The FY 2022 Defense Budget submission reflects President Biden’s priorities to end the “forever wars,” invest in cutting-edge capabilities for the US military and national security advantage in the future and revitalize America’s unmatched network of alliances and partnerships.
The United States military faces substantial challenges, emanating from countries like China and Russia, and from threats to global security, such as from climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The budget addresses these challenges, and others, by making key investments that defend the US, while innovating and modernizing, and building strong relationships with US allies alongside other elements of national security.
The budget request:
Takes a broader approach to national security to address threats such as climate change, Covid-19, and extremism.
· Makes smart and disciplined choices regarding national defense, particularly by aligning resources to evolving threats.
· Addresses strategic competition with China through calculated defense investments.
The FY 2022 President’s Budget request of $715 billion when compared to the FY 2021 enacted amount of $703.7 billion, reflects a 1.6% increase. Importantly, the requested amount reflects a shift in resources to match priorities. For the Navy and Air Force, there are additional investments to address strategic competition with China. For the Army, the request reflects the President’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan prior to the beginning of FY 2022.
A few examples of the FY 2002 budget:
COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness - over $500 million
Pacific Deterrence Initiative - $5.1 billion
Preparing for, adapting to and mitigating climate change - $617 million
B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber - $3 billion
COLUMBIA Class Ballistic Missile Submarine - $5 billion
Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) Missile - $609 million
Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) - $2.6 billion
Missile Defeat and Defense - $20.4 billion.
Science and Technology and Advanced Capability Enablers - $129 billion
Lethal Air Forces - $52.4 billion
Combat Effective Naval Forces - $34.6 billion
Combat Effective Ground Forces - $12.3 billion
Space and Space-Based Systems - $20.6 billion
Cyberspace Activities - $10.4 billion
USSOCOM - $122.1 billion
The FY 2002, the largest defense budget globally, reflects Baiden's strategy and the future and current threats and risks analysis. It is interesting to notice the US DoD budget for its special operations forces (larger than the Navy and Airforce budgets), cyber warfare, and space warfare.
More than that, the Research and Development budget for multi-service technologies emphasis Baiden's approach towards the importance of technology as a key factor against the Chinese and Russian threats.