US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instructed the leadership of the Pentagon and the entire military command to prepare a plan to reduce the defense budget by 8% annually for the next five years. About this informs The Washington Post.
According to Hegseth’s order, the plan must be ready by February 24. At the same time, the reductions should not affect 17 key categories, including operations on the southern border of the United States, modernization of nuclear weapons and anti-missile defense systems, as well as procurement of submarines and kamikaze drones.
For 2025, the budget of the Pentagon is about 850 billion dollars. Implementation of Hegseth’s requirements would reduce defense spending by tens of billions of dollars annually over five years, the largest reduction since 2013.
The document says funding for programs targeting “warfare needs” should be preserved by cutting spending on “underperforming items” such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and climate change research. Among the priority directions is the construction of military facilities in the Pacific region, as well as financing of the Indo-Pacific and Northern Commands.
