Defense budgets are seldom page-turners, but this one has a clear engineering message: ‘Programs that link sensors, shooters, and sustainers have a way of surviving.
The compromise fiscal 2026 defense appropriations bill is $839 billion and shines a light on air superiority, airborne command and control, electronic warfare, and shipbuilding. Within the aircraft community, the bill provides $3.9 billion for sixth-generation fighters, of which $3 billion is for the Air Force’s F-47 and $972 million is for the Navy’s F/A-XX. The amounts are less significant as individual appropriations than as indicators of risk posture: Congress is forging ahead with high-end aviation even as the current force ages.
The F-47, known as the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, is described as a replacement option for the F-22 and as the manned focal point of a larger system that also encompasses “collaborative combat aircraft” that are autonomous. Performance metrics have been publicly linked to the idea by service leaders, such as a combat radius of over 1,000 nautical miles and speeds in excess of Mach 2. An increase in spending by Congress above what the Pentagon initially asked for is merely the latest manifestation of a familiar dynamic: when a particular program is described as the “front end” of a family of systems, it is typically considered infrastructure rather than a system by lawmakers.
The most acute congressional action is in airborne battle management. The legislation would allocate $1.1 billion for the E-7 Wedgetail and prevents the Air Force from cutting the program, although the department has an interest in moving more target warning and tracking missions into space. The argument of policy is as much about the technology as it is about strategy. Manned airborne sensors provide flexible coverage and serve as communication and battle management nodes, while space-based layers offer persistence but come with their own set of resilience challenges. The language of policy has been more aggressive than the funding, using provisions that would keep all 16 remaining E-3 Sentry aircraft operational until enough Wedgetails are procured or other conditions are met.
This drive to close the gap in bridging capacity reappears in the F-35 strategy. The compromise bill is consistent with the DoD plan to buy 47 aircraft in 2026 and includes an additional $440 million for spares of the aircraft and its F135 engine, reflecting a shift in focus to readiness and stability of the supply base. The current timing is further clouded by the realities of modernization, as Government Accountability Office reports TR-3 and Block 4 are schedule drivers, with TR-3-enabled combat-ready aircraft deliveries scheduled for 2026 following delays due to hardware and software problems, while Block 4 is scaled back with unclear costs and timelines.
In addition to the fighters, the legislation also supports the “connective tissue” of the rest of the force. It includes $474 million for the EA-37B Compass Call program to purchase two additional electronic attack aircraft and $1.9 billion for the B-21 Raider. At the same time, the industrial plan for B-21 has also involved consideration of accelerating production with $4.5 billion in reconciliation funding. Shipbuilding comes in as the other big capacity bet.
The legislation includes $27.2 billion for the Navy to procure 17 ships, including Columbia-class and Virginia-class submarines, and is consistent with policy initiatives that permit incremental funding authority and multi-contract strategies for major hulls. The common thread throughout air and sea is that Congress is attempting to keep the modernization process afoot while avoiding near-term gaps that engineering schedules, supply chains, and aging platforms no longer permit the services to absorb quietly.
