Defense Budget
- Report
Testimony on Potential Costs of a National Missile Defense System
David E. Mosher, CBO's Director of National Security Analysis, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.
- Presentation
Trends in Total Costs of Military Compensation
Presentation by F. M. Woodward, an analyst in CBO's National Security Division, at the Defense Manpower Roundtable.
- Report
Estimating the Cost of Combat Operations Against Iran
CBO assesses the Department of Defense's costs for the current armed conflict against Iran, as well as the conflict's economic and budgetary effects.
- Report
The Navy's New Battleship Program: Costs and Implications for the Shipbuilding Industrial Base
CBO estimates that it would cost about $275 billion (in 2026 dollars) to build 15 of the Navy's new nuclear-powered battleships through 2056. The first ship would cost about $23 billion, and the next 14 ships would average $18 billion.
- Working Paper
Accrual Accounting for Veterans' Benefits: Working Paper 2026-07
CBO explains how it estimated that VA benefits would cost about $90,000 annually per active-duty service member if accrual accounting methods were used to fund future disability and health benefits that many veterans will receive.
- Graphic
Atlas of Military Compensation, 2026
In the President's 2026 budget request, total military compensation is $718 billion. Of that total, $277 billion is for the Department of Defense, and $441 billion is for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Report
Increasing the Size and Missile Capability of the Navy's Fleet Within the Next Five Years
CBO examines three options to quickly increase the offensive lethality of the U.S. Navy's fleet of surface ships by 2030.
- Report
Potential Costs of a National Missile Defense System
CBO estimates that a national missile defense system possessing capabilities broadly consistent with those in the "The Iron Dome for America" executive order would cost about $1.2 trillion to develop, deploy, and operate for 20 years.
- Report
Answers to Questions for the Record Following a Hearing on The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036
The Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth of the Senate Committee on Finance convened a hearing at which CBO's Director testified. This document provides CBO's answers to questions submitted for the record.
- Report
DoD's 2026 Budget Request and Plan for Funding Provided by the 2025 Reconciliation Act
CBO analyzes one of DoD's largest and most complicated budget requests in the past 50 years. DoD's 2026 budget request totaled $961 billion, including $113 billion in funding provided by the 2025 reconciliation act.