The US military is requesting $994 million in the fiscal year 2027 budget to combat small unmanned aerial systems. According to the Defense Blog website, this figure reflects dramatic changes in the priorities of the ground forces over the past three years, writes TASR. The latest data from the fiscal year 2027 budget documents places drone defense among the largest investment items for land forces in the Other Procurement account.
Ide o program Counter Small Unmanned Aerial System (C-SUAS). Actual amounts for fiscal year 2025 for the same program reached $543 million, for fiscal year 2026 it was $596 million. The fiscal year 2027 request represents an increase of about 67 percent and nearly double what the military actually spent on the program two years ago. No other budget item captures the speed with which the Pentagon has been forced to adapt to a threat almost unknown before the war in Ukraine, Defense Blog wrote.
The ground forces’ portfolio of anti-drone systems spans multiple tiers, from vehicle-mounted and base protection systems to man-portable missile systems that can be deployed by individual infantry units. The intention is to have enough capacity that the small drones cease to be an asymmetric advantage for anyone using them against US troops.
The situation in Ukraine reinforces the pursuit of this investment more strongly than anything else. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces are using drones on the battlefield at a scale and pace that no military planner could have predicted before 2022. Therefore, the US military is essentially building a completely new air defense architecture.
The FY 2027 C-SUAS request is now going through the congressional approval and appropriations process. Given the program’s consistent year-over-year growth and recognition of the real threat of drones, it is among the military budget items least likely to see significant cuts.
