SANDY HOOK - U.S. lawmakers released an FY26 defense appropriations bill this week that adds $8.5 billion to the Pentagon's budget, while providing even more funding for new equipment. The legislation is a conference agreement reflecting final negotiations between House and Senate appropriators. The separate National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was also in the news recently, but it's the newer defense appropriations bill that ultimately sets the Pentagon's spending levels each fiscal year.

The defense legislation is part of a broader consolidated spending bill that also contains funding for Homeland; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

The defense portion of the bill provides $839.2 billion for the Pentagon, which excludes military construction funded separately. The legislation leans heavily into the Pentagon's acquisition portfolio, adding a total of $18 billion for the development and procurement of equipment. The added funding is split between $14.4 billion for procurement and $3 billion for research and development. The resources reflect increased investment in big ticket items like aircraft, missiles, and ships, as well as a broad range of technologies in other markets like unmanned aerial systems (UAS), counter-UAS capabilities, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and advanced materials and weapons development.

Several notable changes in the bill include reversing the Air Force's move to terminate Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail, adding nearly $900 million for the Navy's F/A-XX fighter after the program was deprioritized in the FY26 request, and inserting funding to support the Army's Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) that was scaled back during the Army's recent transformation efforts.

Read below for some key takeaways outlined by lawmakers in a summary of the defense legislation:

PROCUREMENT

Provides $167.5 billion for procurement to the military services and other Department of Defense entities.

AIRCRAFT

- $7.6 billion for 47 F-35 fighters, and an additional $440 million for F-35 and F135 spare parts. - $1.9 billion for B-21 Raider. - $1.9 billion for up to 14 CH-53K heavy transport helicopters. - $1.1 billion for three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. - $976 million for six C-130Js for the Air National Guard. - $500 million for four KC-130Js for the Navy Reserve. - $387.7 million for three MQ-25 Stingray unmanned carrier-based aircraft. - $913 million for UH/HH-60M Army Blackhawk helicopters, and an additional $65 million for advanced procurement. - $629 million for CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopters, and an additional $61 million for advanced procurement. - $474 million for two Compass Call aircraft. - $240 million for MQ-1C Gray Eagle 25M aircraft for the Army National Guard. - $362 million for AH-64 Apache Block IIIA remanufacture.

SHIPBUILDING

- $27.2 billion for 17 ships, including seven battle force ships, to include one Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, two Virginia-class fast attack submarines, three Medium Landing Ships, and one TAGOS SURTASS ship for anti-submarine warfare. - $1.5 billion for the Maritime Industrial Base to invest in critical areas including supplier capacity and capability, strategic outsourcing, workforce training, and technology and infrastructure. - $800 million for three Medium Landing Ships to expedite fielding and delivery of capability to the Marine Corps. - $242 million for long lead items for FF(X) Frigate program in support of the Navy’s objective of quickly delivering a small surface combatant to the Fleet. - $320 million for two Ship-to-Shore Connectors.

VEHICLES AND FORCE PROTECTION

- $780 million for 105 Amphibious Combat Vehicles for the Marine Corps. - $715 million for M109A7 Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzers and M992A3 Field Artillery Ammunition Support vehicles. - $779 million to upgrade Abrams tanks to the M1A2 (SEP)v3 tank variant. - $345 million for Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for the Army. - $359 million for the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW), and $426 million for NGSW ammunition.

MUNITIONS

- Multi-year procurement authority for PAC-3, SM-6, THAAD, Tomahawk, LRASM, JASSM, AMRAAM, and SM-3 IB. - $6.4 billion for procurement of critical munitions, including an additional $2.1 billion for increased quantities to execute multi-year procurement ramp. - $500 million for the Solid Rocket Motor Industrial Base to include facilitization, workforce development, supplier base expansion, and qualification of second and third-tier suppliers.

SPACE SYSTEMS

- $2 billion to procure 11 space launch missions under the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 contract. - $528 million to procure two GPS IIIF spacecraft.

The bill also provides $800 million for the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account, which traditionally added by Congress during the budget process.

RDT&E

Provides $145.9 billion for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation to the military services and other Department of Defense entities.

AIRCRAFT

- $3.9 billion for 6th Generation aircraft, including $972 million for Navy’s Next Generation Fighter FA-XX, and $3 billion for Air Force’s F-47. - $2.7 billion for Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber. - $1.1 billion for Air Force E-7 Wedgetail. - $1 billion for Navy’s Take Charge and Move Out mission. - $1.2 billion for Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (MV-75). - $175 million for the Improved Turbine Engine Program.

SPACE SYSTEMS - $3.8 billion for Missile Warning / Missile Tracking systems. - $2.5 billion in classified space programs to protect and defend United States space assets to ensure the United States has space superiority. - $1.8 billion for jam-resistant and wideband military satellite communications, including assured satellite communications for nuclear command and control.

INNOVATION AND INDUSTRIAL BASE

- $177.4 million for the establishment of a Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network. - $4.5 billion for hypersonic test infrastructure, testing, and weapons systems. - $4.3 billion to allow access for Office of Strategic Capital loans and loan guarantees to scale capacity of critical suppliers. - $429.5 million for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). - $400 million for Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT), including $75 million for software-only solutions. - $812.1 million for Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment support. - $326.9 million for bioindustrial manufacturing to advance energetics and mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities. - $321.9 million for Defense Production Act Purchases.

Source: Forecast Internatioanl
Associated URL: https://www.forecastinternational.com
Author: s. McDougall, Defense Analyst 

WASHINGTON -- According to a January 2026 press release from Babcock International, the company has sold another two Arrowhead 140 frigate design licences to Indonesia. The agreement adds further momentum to growing British warship export successes and increases the profile of the Arrowhead 140 design, which also forms the basis of the Royal Navy’s Type 31.

With the announcement, Babcock secured its first tangible agreement under the broader £4 billion Maritime Partnership Programme (MPP) signed with Indonesia in 2025 to establish a long-term industrial relationship. The MPP is intended to support the modernisation of Indonesia’s maritime forces and associated shipbuilding infrastructure. The new licences follow the original export of two Arrowhead 140 licences agreed in 2021, confirming continued Indonesian commitment to the design.

Two Arrowhead 140 frigates are already in production at local shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia, as part of the Merah Putih program. The first ship of the Merah Putih frigate class, KRI Balaputradewa, was launched in Indonesia in December 2025.

Source: Navy Lookout
Associated URL: https://www.navylookout.com/indonesia-to-build-a-further-two-arrowhead-140-derived-frigates/

WASHINGTON -- Construction has commenced on a Land-Based Test Facility (LBTF) at Hartlen Point in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, to support the introduction and lifecycle of the Royal Canadian Navy’s new River-class destroyers.

Canada’s Department of National Defence is overseeing the project, which began in November 2025 and is projected to be completed in early 2028. PCL Construction, based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is carrying out the construction.

The LBTF will play a key role in testing the complex combat systems of the River-class destroyers before their installation on vessels. Its primary function is to support combat systems integration for the fleet.

Canada is acquiring 15 new River-class destroyers to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s ageing Halifax-class frigates and retired Iroquois-class destroyers.

Source: Naval Technology
Associated URL: https://www.naval-technology.com/news/canada-lbtf-river-class-destroyers/