DoD tells House committee its FY26 request focuses on modernization, industrial base and ‘‘Golden Dome’’ missile defenses

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told the House Armed Services Committee that the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2026 budget request is aimed at rebuilding readiness and modernizing the force to meet what he described as “urgent and complex” threats from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Hegseth said the administration’s FY26 package totals about $961 billion in the defense baseline (and more than $1 trillion when combined with reconciliation measures) and that the request includes major new investments in shipbuilding, a next‑generation air superiority fighter, nuclear modernization, and a layered homeland missile‑defense effort the administration calls “Golden Dome.” “This budget puts America and gives our warriors what they need,” Hegseth said during his opening testimony.

The secretary said the request reverses what he described as “years of chronic underinvestment,” adding that a recent department review that looked for an 8% savings exercise identified about $30 billion in savings that the department planned to redirect toward higher priorities. Hegseth said the package includes a substantial naval shipbuilding increase in FY26 — about $6 billion for shipbuilding in FY26, and $47 billion in total shipbuilding requested for the year — and large investments to modernize nuclear forces and buy next‑generation weapons.

General Dan Kane, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the budget as enabling investments the joint force needs to “dominate our adversaries at scale,” emphasizing people and platforms. Kane told lawmakers the request was intended to provide “the necessary tools to reinvigorate our national and defense industrial base” and to make the joint force more globally integrated.

Numbers Hegseth cited in the hearing include: - A roughly $961 billion core DoD request in FY26 and more than $1 trillion when combined with reconciliation language; - A department finding of about $30 billion of savings from an 8% exercise to be reinvested; - A $25 billion program referred to in testimony as “Golden Dome” funding; - About $62 billion noted in testimony for modernization and sustainment of the nuclear enterprise; and - An FY26 figure of roughly $3.0435 billion cited in committee testimony for the next‑generation air superiority design (referred to in testimony as the F‑47/NGAD design effort).

Committee members probed the department on timing and specifics. Chairman Mike Rogers pressed Hegseth to explain how the FY26 request will be synchronized with Congress’ oversight and with the two‑bill approach the administration has signaled (an annual budget plus reconciliation funding). Hegseth and Brynn McDowell, the acting DoD comptroller who accompanied the witnesses, told the committee staff that many line items had already been shared with committee staff and that additional detail would follow as budget documents were finalized.

Lawmakers repeatedly pressed the witnesses about acquisition reform and speed of fielding. Hegseth said the department is reviewing the bipartisan Speed Act and is coordinating with the newly confirmed undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment; Kane said the services and combatant commands must deliver capability to warfighters “at scale” and that competition and new entrants into defense acquisition are priorities.

Some members described the request as too thin on details. Ranking Member Smith warned the committee repeatedly that the late release of budget materials hindered lawmakers’ ability to perform oversight. Hegseth acknowledged the later timeline for the administration’s first budget submission and said it required additional work to implement presidential priorities.

Why it matters: Committee members on both sides described the request as consequential for shipbuilding, the nuclear triad, air superiority and ballistic‑missile defenses — all priorities they said would shape U.S. deterrence for years. Lawmakers also signaled close attention to acquisition reform, production stability for shipbuilding and other major programs, and funding lines for the Pentagon’s industrial base recovery.

What’s next: Committee staff and DoD officials said they would continue to exchange line‑by‑line details. Several members said they expect shipbuilding, munitions, and nuclear modernization to be areas of close scrutiny during markups of the NDAA and appropriations bills.