The Pentagon is once again operating under temporary funding
The new US fiscal year began Thursday, with the federal government once again relying on a continuing resolution—a temporary measure that maintains spending at existing levels but restricts the launch of new programs.
The Pentagon has repeatedly warned that a continuing resolution prevents it from starting new programs, even as the military seeks to develop cutting-edge technologies. Fiscal 2027 budget documents identify more than 150 “new starts” across procurement and research, development, test and evaluation accounts. The Pentagon did not provide an official list of affected programs before publication.
Budget documents can contain errors, but they illustrate the range of projects facing uncertainty, from drones and hypersonic weapons to the Golden Fleet initiative and space systems.
“It’s gonna slow us down, and the threat is not slowing down,” said newly appointed Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglass Schiess, urging Congress to pass a budget.
The continuing resolution runs through December 11. After that, lawmakers could extend it again or, if the impasse continues, face another government shutdown. Sen. Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, warned that lawmakers would be in a “mad dash” to avoid a full-year continuing resolution.
Coons also questioned Pentagon expectations of receiving $350 billion through reconciliation and more than $100 billion in supplemental funding. He said those amounts were unlikely to materialize while the war continues, potentially leaving a $500 billion to $700 billion gap between the department’s plans and the funding it actually receives.
Pentagon-wide priorities: Golden Dome and DAWG drones
Among the most prominent programs at risk is Golden Dome, the missile-defense initiative championed by President Donald Trump. The effort initially received funding through the 2025 reconciliation package, and the administration proposed $17.5 billion for fiscal 2027. Less than $400 million of that amount would come from the base budget; the rest depends on additional funding that remains uncertain.
Gen. Michael Guetlein, who oversees the program, warned in August that without continued funding, Golden Dome could not progress beyond what had already been built and delivered.
The Pentagon’s Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, or DAWG, initiative could also be delayed. The effort is intended to absorb and expand the Biden-era Replicator program, which sought to acquire thousands of low-cost, expendable drones, particularly for the Indo-Pacific.
For fiscal 2027, the Pentagon requested $54.6 billion for DAWG research and development: $1 billion from the base budget and $53.6 billion from more flexible supplemental funding. That would represent an increase of roughly 24,070% over fiscal 2026 spending. Without a new budget and additional funding, the plans will likely have to be scaled back substantially.
Army: sensors, munitions and air defense
The Army’s budget documents list 29 new starts: 17 in procurement and 12 in research and development.
Two involve the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, or HADES, a surveillance aircraft based on the Bombardier Global 6500 and equipped with advanced sensors for multidomain operations. The Army requested $131.7 million for the aircraft and systems integration, plus $15.3 million for small high-altitude balloons and payloads.
Another procurement at risk is $21 million for 34 heavy variants of the Infantry Squad Vehicle. In July, the Army awarded agreements to three vendors to deliver three prototypes each by March 30, 2027.
Other procurement initiatives include unmanned and autonomous ground systems, engineering support, ammunition and small arms. The largest request, $145 million, is for work at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee.
The Army’s largest new research-and-development request is $921.9 million for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, with another $132.1 million for the AN/TPY-2 sensor, described as the system’s “brain and eyes.” The next-largest request is $108.1 million for the fourth increment of M-SHORAD, which is designed to protect dismounted maneuver forces.
Other efforts cover directed-energy upgrades, tactical bridging, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and Arctic mobility. The Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, was initially listed as a new procurement start, but the Army shifted the funding into research and development, where the program has received money for several years. It is therefore not considered a new start and is not affected in the same way by the continuing resolution.
Navy: Trump-class battleship, support ships and hypersonic missiles
The Department of the Navy’s budget lists 17 new starts, including major initiatives tied to the Golden Fleet and the Trump-class battleship.
The Navy is seeking about $1 billion in advance procurement and roughly $837 million in research and development for the battleship in fiscal 2027. It plans to request about $17 billion in procurement funding for the first ship in fiscal 2028. Budget documents describe the vessel as a platform for high-volume, long-range offensive firepower and forward command and control.
Another new program would fund submarine tenders capable of providing resupply, repairs and operational support in forward locations during peacetime and wartime. The Navy is seeking a total of $4.4 billion for two ships to support Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, as well as future submarine classes.
The service is also requesting $450 million in fiscal 2027 for a bulk fuel vessel, with plans to buy one ship that year and another in 2028. The Navy is considering existing commercial designs and expects the Military Sealift Command to operate the vessels. They would carry fuel from shore to forward areas and transfer fuel at sea to other logistics ships, allowing those vessels to remain on station longer.
The Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missile program is seeking $750 million to purchase its first 12 weapons. The Navy is modifying Zumwalt-class destroyers to launch the missiles and plans to deploy CPS on some Virginia-class submarines.
Air Force: hypersonic weapons and combat drones
About 100 Air Force new starts listed across procurement and research accounts could be affected. Many are relatively small projects, such as new communications equipment or post-production modifications. Others are among the service’s major priorities.
The Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, was due to begin research on a second increment in 2027, alongside a project to develop an air-launched ballistic missile. The Air Force also plans to begin buying a separate hypersonic cruise missile, known as HACM. All of these efforts could be delayed.
The Family of Affordable Mass Missiles program may also be affected. The Air Force plans to buy tens of thousands of weapons and begin developing a long-range missile under the program in fiscal 2027.
The service also intends to take over the Navy’s mission of maintaining airborne command posts capable of launching land-based nuclear missiles. The program, known as Looking Glass – Next, is scheduled to begin in 2027.
Another effort would replace the Combat Survivor Evader Locator radio, used by personnel isolated behind enemy lines, with a Next Generation Survival Radio for the joint force. The Air Force planned to begin rapid fielding in 2027, but the effort is classified as a new start and could be delayed.
The service also plans to develop active defenses for its large aircraft under the Large Aircraft Survivability System program. Its budget includes a planned purchase of one C-37 executive transport aircraft.
The continuing resolution could also constrain the move into production for Collaborative Combat Aircraft drones designed to fly alongside crewed fighters. The program is not formally designated a new start, but an Air Force official said production cannot proceed without dedicated production funding.
Space Force: combat software and protected infrastructure
The Space Force is requesting $71 billion for fiscal 2027. Its budget documents list nine new starts, including stand-alone projects and components of larger programs.
The largest new request is $1.5 billion for Autonomous Tactical Fabric, a software-focused initiative with planned funding of $6.8 billion through 2031. The system is intended to create a shared platform for data exchange, connecting sensors with weapons and other capabilities across communications networks. The concept resembles the Pentagon’s earlier effort to link command and control across multiple domains.
Another program, Resilient Ground Architecture, is slated to receive $196 million through two budget lines tied to ground infrastructure for early-warning satellites and tactical systems.
The Space Force is seeking $37.9 million for commercial geostationary electro-optical and infrared satellite services. The initiative would offer a lower-cost follow-on to the EWS-G weather satellite, which is expected to reach the end of its service life in 2030. The system is intended to support forecasts for commands in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East.
Other projects include a $10.6 million Space Force TENCAP initiative, designed to rapidly turn intelligence gathered by sensor systems into capabilities for battlefield use. The effort aims to deliver operational prototypes within two years.
On the procurement side, the largest new start is a $350 million project to build and equip four relocatable facilities. They would temporarily house personnel assigned to operations centers under construction in New Mexico, Nebraska, Alabama and Colorado. The service also wants to spend $2 million on a deployable facility for handling classified information.
The Space Force is requesting nearly $140 million for advance procurement of long-lead items for the third and fourth satellites in the Evolved Strategic SATCOM program. The system is intended to replace aging AEHF satellites, which provide encrypted, nuclear-survivable national security communications.
Finally, the service plans to purchase a BH-Secondary unit under the Bounty Hunter program for $8.9 million. Bounty Hunter is designed to locate sources of electromagnetic interference affecting military and commercial satellites. The new version would be smaller and more autonomous, allowing remote operation.
