Tune in tomorrow, October 23rd at 11am for a conversation surrounding our recent @cnas.bsky.social report on the FY 2026 defense budget, military modernization, and the challenge of matching resources to strategy.

www.cnas.org/events/virtu...

Overall, the intensity & composition of US modernization plans risk prioritizing long-term investments at the expense of critical near-term capability. (11/12)

🛰️ Secure critical space supply chains & expand launch capacity to enable rapid proliferation of new systems once available. (10/12)

💨 Speed up the transition from R&D to procurement — esp. the Army’s Typhon missile, extended-range PrSM, & hypersonic weapons. (9/12)

🤑 Buy more of what’s available now to shift the balance — esp. F-15EX, B-21, long-range fires & maritime strike missiles. (8/12)

😬 Weapons that have been purchased often lack the capability or quantity to shift the balance in the Indo-Pacific.

💸 Major programs like missile defense, the F-35, Columbia-class subs & Constellation-class frigates are delayed & over budget. (6/12)

🔬 Pentagon spending has favored R&D over fielding new capabilities.

📈 R&D has increased while procurement has decreased as a share of the budget. (5/12)

❓How is it possible that despite spending nearly $1 trillion a year on defense, the US military is losing its edge? (4/12)

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These are the very spending categories essential to military modernization.

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Despite that objective, the Pentagon’s FY26 budgeting plans actually represent a decrease from the FY25 defense budget.