Pentagon Submits Rp797 Trillion Budget to Build Centralized AI Ecosystem

ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/Demian Du

JAKARTA - The United States Department of Defense has proposed a budget of 46 billion US dollars (Rp797 trillion) in 2027 for the development of sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and the AI Arsenal initiative.

The move is being made to shift the department away from a fragmented cluster of graphics processing units (GPUs) to an ecosystem of an organized infrastructure portfolio, a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) accredited data center, and AI supercomputers, RIA Novosti correspondent analyzed according to the Pentagon's newly released 2027 fiscal year report.

The budget request is part of the US Department of Defense's fiscal year 2027 budget, which totals a record $1.5 trillion (Rp25.9 quadrillion) or a 44 percent jump from the previous year.

As reported by ANTARA from Sputnik, Thursday, May 7, the US Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) allocated 29.5 billion US dollars (Rp510 trillion) for the procurement of the initial fleet of cutting-edge GPUs and AI supercomputers.

The strategy aims to maximize federal purchasing power by replacing the unit procurement model, which has been sporadic, with a centralized government AI architecture.

Meanwhile, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is requesting $12.3 billion (Rp212.9 trillion) for operational and maintenance funding to close the infrastructure capability gap.

The funds will be used for physical hardening of facilities, advanced cooling systems, and the improvement of the security standards of sensitive information facilities (SCIF) required for AI computing.

In addition, DISA also requested 4.2 billion US dollars (Rp72 trillion) for special technical procurement, including modular data centers, rack electrical systems, cable installation, and cryptographic devices.

Overall, the effort is described as a strategic initiative to build and control an AI ecosystem that is fully operated by the government.

This is done to ensure that AI capabilities are critical and national data remains under the authority of the department, from the company level to the front-line tactical guard.