Facing China And Russia, The United States Prepares A Budget Of IDR 10.8 Quadrillion For Military To Nuclear

Jet tempur F-35 Lightning II mendarat di Kapal Induk USS Nimitz (CVN-68). (Wikimedia Commons U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly M. Agee

JAKARTA - The United States Department of Defense has proposed a budget of USD 715 billion to modernize the military and nuclear weapons to face future threats, including from China.

The Joe Biden Administration's defense budget, which will be submitted to the United States Congress on Friday, said sources contained investments in the readiness of troops, outer space, Pacific deterrence initiatives to counter the Chinese threat, and nuclear technology.

The requested budget includes the purchase of ships and jets, as well as paying for maintenance and salaries. Then there's the additional USD 38 billion for defense-related programs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Energy, and other agencies. The total national security budget of the United States amounts to USD 753 billion, or about IDR 10.805.173.5 billion, an increase of 1.7 percent from last year's budget.

There will also be money to develop and further test hypersonic weapons and other next-generation weapons systems, as plans to build military capabilities against Russia and China.

United States military illustration. (Wikimedia Commons / DVIDSHUB)

Cited from Reuters on Friday, May 28, the President's budget requests, including those for the military, are usually the starting point for negotiations with Congress which ultimately decides how the funds are spent.

The Pacific Prevention Initiative, created to counter China, focuses on competition in the Indo-Pacific and aims to increase US readiness in the region through funding of radar, satellite, and missile systems.

To support this financing, the Pentagon plans to sell a number of its old combat equipment which has high maintenance costs, such as the four Littoral Combat Ships, the legendary A-10 Thunderbolt tank destroyer, to the KC-10 and KC-135 fleets that are included in the refueling fleet in the air.

"We must modernize if deterrence is to persist and, if confirmed, I will seek to increase the speed and scale of innovation in our forces", said Kathleen Hicks in February before she was confirmed as deputy defense minister.

Among the priorities the Pentagon requests are 85 stealth F-35 fighters built by Lockheed Martin, having previously made requests for 78 of its kind in 2000 and 79 in the last year.

Meanwhile, for the plan to procure Navy ships for the 2022 fiscal year, there are only eight submissions for new warships. Meanwhile, in the final months of Donald Trump's administration, there have been 12 requests for new surface combatants for 2022.

Despite reducing the number of older systems, the Biden administration will continue to invest in modernizing the United States nuclear triad, a costly endeavor that will cost an average of more than USD 60 billion per year over the course of this decade and a total of over one trillion dollars, according to a Congressional Budget Office report.

Funding will be used to improve nuclear command and control, as well as delivery platforms such as the Columbia Class nuclear submarines built by Huntington Ingalls Industries and General Dynamics, to certification of carrying nuclear bombs for the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter.