US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors
The SM-3 Block IIA missile is the product of a co-development agreement between the US and Japan.(Photo: US Navy)
The Pentagon’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes an impressive increase in the procurement of interceptors, with the number of the US Army’s PAC-3 MSE rounds expanding by 683%, the US Navy’s Standard Missile by 365% and the MDA’s SM-3 IIA by more than 1,000%.
The US administration has requested US$52.8 billion to cover missile defence-related acquisitions and research and development programmes in FY2027. This represents a 32% increase compared to the amount Washington requested for the current fiscal year, at around $40 billion.
The boost will enable the Pentagon to advance the Golden Dome for America initiative and considerably expand the procurement of counter-missile rounds such as Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) and Standard Missiles (SM).
For the US Army, the purchase of MSE rounds grew from $1.7 billion for 357 units in FY2026 to $12 billion for 2,798 missiles. This
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