The need to increase America's defense budget, especially to modernize the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, is made clear in this July 16 Forbes article [https://www.forbes.com/sites/davedeptula/2025/07/16/why-president-donald-trump-might-increase-americas-defense-budget/]. Here, retired Lt Gen. David Deptula hits home runs on several key points:
-- Air and Space forces are the indispensable military forces upon which all U.S. joint force operations depend. Their superiority underwrites success in all other domains, and no large-scale joint operation can be conducted without some element of the Department of the Air Force.
-- Decades of massive Air Force underfunding have eroded combat capability and driven risk, resulting in a historically old, small, and least ready Air Force, aimed at getting even smaller. The younger Space Force lacks the resources to mature into necessary warfighting.
-- Budgetwise, the combined 2026 Air and Space Force budget of $211 million is less than the 2025 request and still suffers from the lingering Cold War vestige known as "passthough" [money for other defense agencies ... see DOD, STOP THE GIMMICK; LET AIR FORCE MODERNIZE BY SPENDING ALL OF ITS BUDGET! - Armed Forces Press].
-- Looking ahead to potential future fights, America cannot afford to show up with a hollow aerospace force. The solution is investment—sustained, robust, and focused on modernizing and equipping America’s Air Force and Space Force.
In light of these points, Gen. Deptula urges a dramatic increase in Air and Space Force investment -- "a strategic necessity". He encourages viewing the 2026 Big Beautiful Bill plus-up as a down payment on a long-overdue course correction to rebuild the strength, scale, and technological superiority of the Department of the Air Force. Finally, he looks ahead to a permanent, structural budget increase locking in gains (e.g., accelerated modernization, expanded production lines, increased readiness) and future budgets building from this enhanced baseline to close the gap between America’s strategic objectives and the tools required to achieve them.
