President Donald Trump asked Congress for a $500 billion increase in defense spending last week, a significant jump from this year’s $1 trillion budget, but necessary considering both the growing threat from China and the efforts our allies have made in both the Atlantic and Pacific in meeting their defense spending obligations. If we are going to ask our allies to spend 5% of GDP on defense, we should match that commitment, and Trump is doing that.
Thanks to an infusion of cash from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, this year’s defense budget reached $1 trillion, approximately 3% of GDP, but is set to decline to around $900 billion next year. We are currently asking our NATO allies to spend 5% of GDP on defense — 3.5 % of GDP on core military defense such as troops and equipment, with an additional 1.5 % on defense-related investments including infrastructure and logistics — and while none of them are currently hitting that target, almost all of them significantly increased their military spending last year. In the Pacific, Japan’s new government has also announced record-high defense spending.
A $500 billion increase would raise our defense spending to 5% of GDP, and there are plenty of ways those resources could be put to good use.
The first priority should be naval power. Any major conflict with China would be decided in the Pacific, where sea control and sea denial are decisive. That means more attack submarines, more surface combatants built in greater numbers, and a serious push for unmanned surface and undersea vessels. Equally important is hardening ships against missile saturation and expanding shipyard capacity so losses can be replaced during a prolonged war.
The United States also does not have enough missiles for a sustained high-intensity conflict. The Pentagon should invest heavily in long-range anti-ship missiles, air-launched cruise missiles, and air and missile defense interceptors. Hypersonic weapons only matter if they can be mass-produced. The goal is not technological novelty, but the ability to outlast an adversary in real combat.
Cheap, expendable drones are transforming warfare faster than any system in decades. The U.S. should invest in large swarms of air, sea, and subsurface drones that can overwhelm defenses and absorb losses. Unmanned autonomous systems provide mass and resilience without risking pilots or losing billion-dollar platforms early in a fight.
None of these capabilities matters without the ability to produce them at scale. A major share of the money should go to rebuilding the industrial base that supports the Pentagon. That means new missile and munitions factories, redundant supply chains, skilled-labor pipelines, and stockpiles of critical materials. Long-term procurement contracts would give industry confidence to expand capacity, ensuring the U.S. can replace losses faster than any adversary.
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Asked for comment on Trump’s new request, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it “would mark the largest peacetime buildup in decades. It would provide unmatched security for the USA in this increasingly dangerous time. This is how we achieve peace through strength.”
Wicker is correct. Peace through strength is not a slogan but a strategy, and it requires matching words with resources. China is rapidly expanding its navy, missile forces, and industrial capacity with the clear aim of dominating the Pacific. Deterrence only works if Beijing believes the U.S. can fight, survive, and win a prolonged war. Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget does that — aligning U.S. commitments with allied expectations, rebuilding military strength, and ensuring America remains capable of preventing war by being fully prepared for one.