Rank #1 · Americas
The United States remains the largest military spender by a wide margin: SIPRI puts 2025 spending at $954B, and 2026 outlays are projected to cross $1 trillion once supplementals are included. The base budget is anchored by the FY2026 NDAA at $895B, but Indo-Pacific posture, replenishment of weapons drawn for Ukraine and Israel, and the Sentinel ICBM modernization program continue to push total obligations higher.
The FY2026 enacted base appropriation is $895.2B, the largest peacetime defense bill in nominal terms. Procurement accounts grow ~6% YoY, driven by Munitions Industrial Base Strategy line items, Columbia-class submarines, and B-21 production. Operations & Maintenance compresses slightly as the Ukraine Presidential Drawdown Authority winds down. Personnel costs rise with a 4.5% pay raise for service members. Off-budget items — Department of Energy nuclear-weapons activities (~$32B) and Veterans Affairs (~$369B requested) — bring the broader national-defense topline well over $1T.
The active force totals 1.33M personnel across Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, with 778K Selected Reserve and National Guard. Posture remains globally distributed: 11 carrier strike groups, 3 active armored corps, 5 numbered air forces, and a permanent forward presence in Europe (V Corps), the Indo-Pacific (INDOPACOM, ~375K personnel), and the Middle East (CENTCOM). The Space Force, established 2019, has grown to ~9,400 Guardians and absorbs an increasing share of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance funding.
The US defense industrial base is the deepest in the world but is straining under simultaneous Ukraine, Israel, and Indo-Pacific demand. The Pentagon's 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy formalized concerns about single-point-of-failure suppliers (e.g., solid rocket motors, large-caliber forgings). Multi-year procurement contracts have been authorized for PAC-3, LRASM, AMRAAM, JASSM, and Tomahawk to expand throughput. The US is the world's largest arms exporter — $238B in approved Foreign Military Sales for FY2024 — with Poland, Germany, and Saudi Arabia among the top recipients.
Active engagements in 2026 include Operation Epic Fury (the US-Iran war that began Feb 28, 2026, currently under a ceasefire as of April 8), continuing security assistance to Ukraine and Israel, and counter-Houthi strikes in the Red Sea. The Indo-Pacific posture is increasingly oriented toward deterring a Taiwan contingency, with Pacific Deterrence Initiative funding at $14.7B for FY2026. Sanctions enforcement, cyber operations, and forward-deployed missile-defense assets in Europe round out the posture.
The April 27, 2026 SIPRI release put US 2025 spending at $954B (current dollars), down 7.5% in real terms from the 2024 peak of $997B as Ukraine drawdown spending tapered. The FY2026 NDAA was signed Dec 23, 2025. Operation Epic Fury (Feb 28-Apr 8, 2026) added an estimated $48B in supplemental obligations, with a request before Congress for $61B in cumulative Iran-related supplementals. The Sentinel ICBM program completed a Nunn-McCurdy breach review in early 2026 with cost growth of 81% above baseline.
The FY2026 enacted base defense appropriation is $895.2B. With expected supplementals — including Iran-related funding from Operation Epic Fury — total outlays are projected to cross $1 trillion for calendar year 2026. For comparison, SIPRI's measure of actual 2025 US military expenditure was $954B. The broader national-defense topline (including DoE nuclear weapons and intelligence community funding) is higher still.
Approximately 3.1% of GDP in 2025, down from 3.4% in 2023 as nominal GDP grew faster than the defense topline. The 3.1% share is well above the NATO 2% pledge but below Cold War highs (6-9% in the 1980s).
By FY2025 obligations: Lockheed Martin ($69B), RTX ($45B), Boeing ($28B), General Dynamics ($25B), and Northrop Grumman ($23B). The top 5 take roughly 30% of all DoD prime-contract awards.
$2,805 per resident in 2025, the highest figure for any country with a population above 50 million. Israel ($5,138) and Saudi Arabia ($2,255) are the only mid-large countries spending more per capita.