Trump Proposes Massive 60% Increase In Defense Spending Next Year

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Massive U.S. defense increase for next year. President Trump proposed setting U.S. military spending at $1.5 trillion in 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times.”

This would be a 60% rise over the 2026 budget of $901 billion.

On Truth Social, Trump posted: “This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.”

The massive increase would greatly increase the U.S. ability to counter China, which has been on a war footing for years, while replenishing and building up weapons stores depleted by transfers to Ukraine and Israel.

Expect more funds for growing the Navy fleet, airpower, and other critical needs.

The military just received a large boost of some $175 billion in the GOP’s “Big Beautiful Bill” that Trump signed into law last year.

More Pentagon funding is almost certain to run into resistance from Democrats who foolishly want to maintain parity between changes in defense and nondefense (social welfare) spending.

But it’s also sure to draw objections from the GOP’s deficit hawks who have pushed back against larger military spending.

But Trump said he feels comfortable surging spending on the military because of increased revenue created through tariffs imposed on friends and foes around the globe since his return to office.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

THE PDB – Not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF:

NATIONAL SECURITY

Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to meet Danish officials next week to discuss Greenland as a crisis escalates within NATO over Trump’s threats to take over the Arctic territory.

A more militarized Greenland could be a path to averting a U.S.-NATO crisis. A clash over the status of Greenland is shaping into a NATO stress test as Trump’s push for more control sparks European concerns that coercion from Washington could lead to alliance unraveling.

Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from dozens of international organizations, including many related to climate change, half of them being U.N. agencies.

Withdrawal from Wasteful, Ineffective, or Harmful International Organizations (Department of State).

Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations. (White House).

Trump is expected to address Congress for his first State of the Union address of his second term on Feb. 24.

HOMELAND DEFENSE

Biodefense is a core defense. This year, thanks to Trump’s pressure and Russian aggression, NATO allies committed to increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP annually by 2035. 3.5% will go specifically toward core defense spending, the rest for so-called defense infrastructure. NATO nations must quantify their biological defense activities and include them as core capability investments.

HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard to try new kind of maritime domain awareness system off San Diego, a longtime hotspot for maritime migrant smuggling. It will deploy four powered buoys from OPT for “persistent and resident” surveillance off the coast.

US POWER OVERSEAS

The New York Air National Guard is using ski-equipped versions of Lockheed Martin’s long-serving cargo plane to collect scientific data on flights to and from Antarctica to refuel the research station.

VENEZUELA THREAT

Trump’s vision for the future of Venezuela is to lean on what remains of the Maduro regime to end drug trafficking and open up the country’s oil industry to U.S. companies — and eventually hold an election. Each step raises enormous questions.

U.S. faces challenges if it wants ‘boots on the ground’ in Venezuela. Trump said the U.S. is “not at war with Venezuela” after Delta Force extracted Nicolás Maduro to face drug charges in New York, but he is watching to see what actions are taken by acting president Delcy Rodríguez.

Fleet of U.S. warships assembled in the Caribbean Sea during the run-up to the capture of Maduro has begun to thin, though the Trump administration is expected to continue military operations in the region.

Venezuela’s military held a mass funeral in Caracas as it began to bury dozens of soldiers slain during the U.S.’s weekend operation to capture Maduro.

VENEZUELA OIL

Trump’s administration sought to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela’s petroleum worldwide.

Night Stalker MH-6 Little Bird’s ability to appear out of nowhere hundreds of miles away from the nearest land highlighted in “Russia-flagged” tanker raid. The tiny special operations helicopter can’t be refueled in flight and has a short range. However, its small size and incredible transportability mean that it can appear from virtually anywhere, on land or at sea.

The U.K. said it had provided military support to U.S. forces that seized a “Russian-flagged” (Dark Fleet) oil tanker northwest of Britain and Ireland, arguing the operation was legal because the vessel had breached U.S. sanctions on Iran.

CHINA THREAT

Japan decries Chinese export restrictions that could cripple defenses, urging China to withdraw sweeping export restrictions on dual-use items that block goods for Japan’s defense forces.

First new U.S. Marine Corps base in decades nears readiness on Guam. About 2/3 of an $8.9 billion budget has been spent on this 562-acre facility to accommodate Marines relocating from bases on Okinawa, Japan, and too close to China.

UKRAINE WAR

Ukraine’s allies said they made major progress toward agreeing on how to defend the country if a peace deal is struck with Russia, saying they were ready to provide international guarantees to deter Moscow from attacking its neighbor again.

Gamified war in Ukraine: Points, drones, and a new moral economy of killing. On a screen somewhere near the front, a drone operator scrolls through a catalog that looks like an e-commerce site. But, instead of headphones or phone chargers, the tiles display first-person-view drones, electronic warfare kits, and evacuation robots.

EUROPEAN DEFENSE

The “smallest” anti-drone missile. U.K. defense firm Babcock plans to develop a containerized launch system for low-cost missiles manufactured by Estonian startup Frankenburg Technologies, with the goal of providing cheap maritime defenses against one-way attack drones.

MIDDLE EAST THREATS

Footage shows violent clashes as Iran protests spread to more areas. Almost 40 people, including four security personnel, have been killed and 2,200 arrested as protests in Iran turn violent, spreading to 111 cities and towns, frequently chanting in support of the Shah.

Inside Iran’s protests: Gunfire, hospital raids and growing anger.

Why would we trust Turkey with F-35 jets? The sale could be a mistake that undermines U.S. interests and security for decades to come.

SPACE THREATS

NASA seeks to accelerate development of Habitable Worlds Observatory, ramping up work on its next flagship space telescope while also laying groundwork for future observatories.

US MILITARY

First photos of Army’s M1E3 Abrams prototype, next-gen version of its 46-year-old tank, which has been the subject of overhaul promises for close to a decade, now with upgrades for a modern, drone-and-cyber-heavy battlefield.

As part of an ambitious push to get unmanned systems into the hands of its troops, Marines recently integrated First Person View (FPV) drone familiarization into its initial school for new infantry officers.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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