DOD Budget History: Federal Funding 1976–2026

The Department of Defense spends more on research and development (R&D) than any other part of the federal government. Most of it flows through a single giant account — Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) — that pays for designing, prototyping, and testing weapons systems. Inside that live smaller, storied programs like DARPA, the agency that seeded the internet and GPS, along with defense health research and chemical-biological defense.

The history moves in waves. Defense R&D nearly doubled in real terms during the Reagan buildup, from about $36 billion in 2017 dollars in 1980 to about $70 billion by 1987, then drifted down for a decade after the Cold War ended. The post-9/11 buildup pushed it to its all-time real peak of about $92 billion in 2010, before the 2013 budget sequestration knocked it back down.

One quirk to know: the sharp cliff in 2017 — reported R&D fell from about $73 billion to $50 billion — is mostly a bookkeeping change, not a budget cut. The government narrowed its definition of what counts as development, which pushed a large chunk of late-stage weapons work out of the R&D tally.

In fiscal year 2025 defense R&D stood at about $96 billion in current dollars. The 2026 figure of roughly $89 billion is the estimate from the White House budget request. Congress went the other way: the enacted FY 2026 budget works out to about $101 billion in defense R&D, by AAAS's estimate. The budget-cycle section below traces the increase, stage by stage.

Fig. 1 · Budget history

Defense research climbed in two great waves — the Reagan buildup of the 1980s and the post-9/11 surge that peaked in 2010 at about $92 billion in 2017 dollars.

The DOD research and development (R&D) budget, every fiscal year on record.

Millions of constant 2017 dollars — adjusted for inflationFY 2026: budget-request estimate

Source: AAAS Historical R&D Data · as of 2025-10-23

1985Reagan defense buildup. Defense R&D nearly doubles in real terms between 1980 and 1987.
2010Post-9/11 peak. The wartime buildup crests at the series' real-terms high, about $92 billion in 2017 dollars.
2013Sequestration. Budget Control Act caps pull defense R&D down sharply from its 2010 peak.
2017R&D definition narrows. Reported R&D drops by roughly a third as the government redefines late-stage development — a bookkeeping change, not a budget cut.

The numbers behind this figure

DOD research and development (R&D) budget by fiscal year. Dollar values in millions; source AAAS Historical R&D Data.
Fiscal year	Nominal dollars	Constant 2017 dollars	R&D share of GDP
1976	10,067	35,028	0.56%
1977	11,478	37,242	0.57%
1978	11,944	36,315	0.53%
1979	12,958	36,450	0.51%
1980	14,021	36,277	0.5%
1981	17,363	40,912	0.55%
1982	20,848	45,931	0.63%
1983	23,673	49,975	0.67%
1984	27,935	56,929	0.71%
1985	31,978	63,061	0.75%
1986	35,000	67,503	0.77%
1987	37,136	70,054	0.78%
1988	38,126	69,662	0.74%
1989	38,578	67,752	0.69%
1990	37,869	64,163	0.64%
1991	37,209	60,868	0.61%
1992	37,779	60,292	0.59%
1993	38,848	60,577	0.57%
1994	35,510	54,188	0.49%
1995	35,349	52,823	0.47%
1996	35,783	52,483	0.45%
1997	37,238	53,665	0.44%
1998	37,569	53,471	0.42%
1999	38,888	54,672	0.41%
2000	39,960	55,033	0.39%
2001	42,740	57,469	0.41%
2002	49,877	66,027	0.46%
2003	59,296	77,017	0.53%
2004	65,948	83,617	0.55%
2005	70,269	86,464	0.55%
2006	74,289	88,534	0.54%
2007	79,009	91,636	0.55%
2008	81,166	92,224	0.55%
2009	81,484	91,647	0.56%
2010	82,902	92,442	0.56%
2011	79,112	86,480	0.51%
2012	74,460	79,944	0.46%
2013	65,540	69,113	0.39%
2014	66,505	68,874	0.38%
2015	66,524	68,187	0.37%
2016	72,801	74,030	0.39%
2017	50,374	50,374	0.26%
2018	61,766	60,425	0.3%
2019	64,685	62,131	0.31%
2020	74,105	70,262	0.35%
2021	72,095	66,081	0.31%
2022	79,798	68,361	0.32%
2023	89,554	73,362	0.33%
2024	93,068	74,258	0.33%
2025	95,921	74,892	0.33%
2026est.	88,713	67,855	0.29%

Fig. 2 · Where the money goes

The RDT&E account towers over everything else, with DARPA and defense health programs as notable slices.

The major DOD budget lines tracked by AAAS. These are appropriations accounts: they overlap the budget-history series but are not an exact decomposition of it.

Millions of constant 2017 dollars — adjusted for inflationFY 2026: budget-request estimateResearch, Development, Technology and EvaluationDefense HealthDefense Advanced Research Projects AgencyChemical and Biological Defense

Source: AAAS Historical R&D Data · as of 2025-10-23

The numbers behind this figure

DOD budget lines by fiscal year, in millions of constant 2017 dollars. Source AAAS Historical R&D Data.
Fiscal year	Research, Development, Technology and Evaluation	Defense Health	Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency	Chemical and Biological Defense
1975	32,139	—	—	—
1976	33,125	—	—	—
1977	34,355	—	—	—
1978	34,886	—	—	—
1979	34,832	—	—	—
1980	34,916	—	—	—
1981	39,193	—	1,367	—
1982	44,289	—	1,488	—
1983	48,184	—	1,540	—
1984	54,898	—	1,760	—
1985	60,276	—	1,251	—
1986	64,949	—	1,336	—
1987	67,801	—	1,470	—
1988	67,654	—	1,594	—
1989	65,869	—	2,264	—
1990	62,082	—	2,061	—
1991	59,207	—	2,397	—
1992	58,447	—	2,549	—
1993	59,125	—	3,553	—
1994	52,749	—	4,042	—
1995	51,585	—	3,545	—
1996	51,292	—	3,328	371
1997	52,463	—	2,983	435
1998	52,790	—	2,852	481
1999	53,831	53	2,654	491
2000	55,032	406	2,584	564
2001	56,118	581	2,658	545
2002	64,703	614	2,992	789
2003	73,669	581	3,366	809
2004	79,541	598	3,464	865
2005	82,584	623	3,512	852
2006	83,370	623	3,330	1,215
2007	88,160	772	3,304	1,117
2008	88,226	1,005	2,824	1,182
2009	89,597	1,006	3,362	1,205
2010	88,133	1,399	3,270	1,339
2011	81,742	1,295	3,044	1,224
2012	76,948	1,342	2,967	1,202
2013	66,712	1,248	2,878	1,151
2014	65,045	1,753	2,822	1,139
2015	65,170	1,727	2,965	1,082
2016	70,633	2,121	2,868	978
2017	73,193	2,056	2,825	890
2018	85,712	1,959	2,950	1,015
2019	91,217	2,186	3,248	947
2020	97,285	3,353	3,273	1,065
2021	82,777	2,052	3,002	—
2022	111,336	2,157	3,169	860
2023	98,856	2,427	3,221	1,003
2024	101,059	2,246	3,426	214
2025	108,031	1,297	3,171	918
2026est.	107,993	801	3,492	910

Fig. 3 · Basic, applied, or development

Defense R&D is overwhelmingly development — building and testing systems — not basic science.

Research and development at Department of Defense from 2000, the first year all three categories are reported, split by character of work: basic research asks how the world works, applied research aims at a specific problem, and development turns knowledge into working systems.

Millions of constant 2017 dollars — adjusted for inflationFY 2026: budget-request estimateBasic researchApplied researchDevelopment

Source: AAAS Historical R&D Data · as of 2025-10-23

The numbers behind this figure

Department of Defense research by character of work and fiscal year, in millions of constant 2017 dollars. Source AAAS Historical R&D Data.
Fiscal year	Basic research	Applied research	Development
2000	1,565	5,101	48,233
2001	1,731	5,521	50,190
2002	1,787	5,995	57,955
2003	1,778	6,139	69,043
2004	1,722	6,129	75,701
2005	1,827	6,534	77,937
2006	1,737	6,572	80,031
2007	1,768	6,707	83,091
2008	1,807	6,531	83,647
2009	1,966	6,598	82,826
2010	2,024	7,559	82,782
2011	2,052	6,479	77,246
2012	2,158	6,886	71,995
2013	2,005	6,250	61,818
2014	2,179	7,165	59,287
2015	2,269	7,068	58,953
2016	2,268	7,862	64,920
2017	2,204	7,817	40,886
2018	2,221	8,297	49,870
2019	2,383	8,541	51,186
2020	2,415	6,798	59,292
2021	2,329	6,818	56,935
2022	2,298	9,051	59,251
2023	2,435	9,930	66,555
2024	2,112	9,207	62,738
2025	1,949	7,727	65,043
2026est.	1,622	5,660	60,486

Appropriations

The current budget cycle: FY 2026 enacted, FY 2027 requested

What Congress enacted for fiscal year 2026 and what the White House has requested for FY 2027, account by account. Budget authority in millions of dollars.

The research and development share of this budget, as estimated by AAAS and excluding non-R&D activities in these accounts, came to $100.7B enacted for FY 2026. The ledgers below compare appropriated totals, which fund whole programs and can include activity beyond R&D.

Science & Technology accounts5

R&D (6.1-6.6), FY 2026 enacted$94.9BFY 2027 request $129.4B+36.4%
S&T (6.1-6.3), FY 2026 enacted$21.7BFY 2027 request $25.2B+15.8%
Adv Technology Development (6.3), FY 2026 enacted$12.2BFY 2027 request $16.9B+38.8%
Applied Research (6.2), FY 2026 enacted$7.2BFY 2027 request $6.1B-15.6%
Basic Research (6.1), FY 2026 enacted$2.3BFY 2027 request $2.1B-8%

Basic research by service5

Defense Agencies, FY 2026 enacted$757MFY 2027 request $800M+5.6%
Navy, FY 2026 enacted$597MFY 2027 request $525M-12%
Army, FY 2026 enacted$528MFY 2027 request $396M-25%
Air Force, FY 2026 enacted$412MFY 2027 request $388M-5.8%
Space Force, FY 2026 enacted$37MFY 2027 request $35M-4.3%

Basic research programs6

Defense Research Sciences, FY 2026 enacted$1.1BFY 2027 request $1B-5.5%
Univ Research Initiatives, FY 2026 enacted$249MFY 2027 request $154M-38%
National Defense Education Program, FY 2026 enacted$146MFY 2027 request $165M+13.3%
Minority Institutions, FY 2026 enacted$100MFY 2027 request $100M+0.1%
OSD Initiatives, FY 2026 enacted$82MFY 2027 request $87M+5.9%
University / Industry Research Centers, FY 2026 enacted$72MFY 2027 request $54M-26%

Other defense R&D5

Defense Medical Research, FY 2026 enacted$2.5BFY 2027 request $1B-58.8%
Defense-Wide Manufacturing S&T, FY 2026 enacted$562MFY 2027 request $582M+3.4%
DIU, FY 2026 enacted$155MFY 2027 request $553M+256.5%
SERDP, FY 2026 enacted$58MFY 2027 request $61M+4.6%
National Security Innovation Network, FY 2026 enacted$0MFY 2027 request $0M—

RDT&E by service6

Defense Agencies, FY 2026 enacted$9.9BFY 2027 request $16.2B+63.4%
Army, FY 2026 enacted$4BFY 2027 request $2.9B-27.4%
Navy, FY 2026 enacted$3.5BFY 2027 request $2.5B-26.9%
Air Force, FY 2026 enacted$3.4BFY 2027 request $2.8B-16.9%
Space Force, FY 2026 enacted$976MFY 2027 request $710M-27.3%
Total, FY 2026 enacted$21.7BFY 2027 request $25.2B+15.8%

Go deeperThe full appropriations tracker, every agency

Common questions3

How much research funding does the Department of Defense receive?

DOD had about $96 billion in R&D budget authority in fiscal year 2025. For fiscal year 2026, Congress enacted about $101 billion.

What research does DOD fund?

The Department of Defense spends more on research and development (R&D) than any other part of the federal government. Most of it flows through a single giant account — Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) — that pays for designing, prototyping, and testing weapons systems. Inside that live smaller, storied programs like DARPA, the agency that seeded the internet and GPS, along with defense health research and chemical-biological defense.

How has DOD's research budget changed over time?

Defense research climbed in two great waves — the Reagan buildup of the 1980s and the post-9/11 surge that peaked in 2010 at about $92 billion in 2017 dollars.