Biden’s 2022 Military Budget to Fund Nuclear Arms to Deter China

By Staff, Agencies

US President Joe Biden's $715 billion War Department budget will transfer money earmarked for aging systems toward modernizing the US' nuclear weapons stockpile in order to deter China, while also expanding future military capabilities, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the sources, the military budget request, which will be given to Congress on Friday, would include expenditures in troop readiness, space, the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to offset China's military buildup in the region, and nuclear weapons technology.

The budget request would reportedly fund the purchase of ships and airplanes, as well as maintenance and wages, but an extra $38 billion is set aside for military-related programs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Energy, and other agencies, bringing the total national security budget to $753 billion, which is a 1.7% increase above the number for 2021.

According to the report, the US Army's troop goal in the budget was cut by a small margin. Moreover, the Biden administration will reportedly request 85 stealthy F-35 fighter fighters from Lockheed Martin as part of the Pentagon's competing objectives. 

Although the presidential budgets for 2021 and 2020 requested only 79 and 78 F-35 fighter airplanes, respectively, Congress ultimately approved additional jets. Senators and governors have strongly supported the F-35, which has a large manufacturing base.

The US Navy's shipbuilding plan through 2022, released in the final months of Trump's presidency, included 12 additional surface combatant ships. However, according to sources, Biden's request only includes eight new warships.