Pentagon Poised to Replenish Munitions Stockpiles with Billions from Congress

After years of serving as the bill-payer for other Pentagon priorities, munitions stockpiles are poised to get a major boost from the $150 billion reconciliation package unveiled by lawmakers in Congress this week, along with the defense industrial base to produce them.

The package, approved by the House Armed Services Committee on April 29, includes sections with $20.4 billion for munitions and their supply chain and $13.5 billion for low-cost weapons. That covers money for everything from long-range missiles used by multiple services—particularly anti-ship missiles—to hypersonic missiles to low-cost cruise missiles to one-way attack drones.

The reconciliation bill effectively supplements the 2025 budget being funded by continuing resolution. The Trump administration is projecting a 2026 defense budget of $1 trillion, but the reconciliation adds are not part of that figure.

If approved, the new spending would see large increases to buy or develop long-range missiles applicable to multiple services–particularly anti-ship missiles–with boosts to hypersonic missile funding and one-way attack drones of the kind that have proven effective in the Ukraine war.

The package also includes money to boost the resiliency of the supply base for materials such as rare Earth metals, and to buy Army land-based munitions, Navy torpedoes and mines, and rockets and motors to support missile defense systems.

Missiles

The emphasis on long-range cruise missiles dovetails with posture testimony offered by regional commanders this spring, who all laid out the need to shoot at enemy targets—at least in the initial stages of a conflict—from outside the reach of air defenses, the range of which continues to expand.  

The package includes $938 million for such multi-service missiles—$688 million to develop and procure them, and $250 million to expand production capacity. Lawmakers didn’t specify which programs they were targeting with these increases, nor did they spell out how much of the money is intended to support specific branches.

Another combined $780 million would go for development, procurement, and expanded production of Navy and Air Force “long-range anti-ship missiles.” Lockheed Martin’s stealthy AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM, currently dominates this sector.  

A total of $584 million would go to development, production, and capacity expansion for long-range air-to-surface missiles used by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.

One program seemingly poised to expand is the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile built by RTX. Lawmakers want to put $250 million to buy “medium range air-to-air-missiles,” $225 million to “expand the production base” for those weapons, and $50 million to mitigate “diminishing manufacturing sources” that support such missiles, for a total of $525 million.

Another individual winner seems to be Northrop Grumman”s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile- Extended Range, or AARGM-ER. The package includes “$325 million for production capacity improvements for air-launched anti-radiation missiles.”

Even short-range air-to-air missiles like the AIM-9X Sidewinder, also built by RTX, got a boost, to the tune of $50 million to boost the production capacity by establishing “second sources” for weapon parts.

As more and more companies like Anduril and Lockheed Martin unveil new low-cost cruise missiles, Congress signaled interest in growing the market with $500 million for development and production of such weapons suitable for export to allied and partner nations.

Drones

One of the largest single boosts in the package was $1 billion for “expansion of the one-way attack unmanned aerial systems industrial base” to produce weapons similar to those used with great effect in the Ukraine war.

As a mission area, counter-unmanned aerial systems capability was tapped for more than $1 billion, collectively, with $500 million for development, production and integration of such systems, $350 million pegged to development, production and integration of “non-kinetic” counter-UAS  and $250 million for “development, production, and integration of land-based counter-unmanned aerial systems programs.” These funds were listed among Army programs, but may not be strictly to support Army efforts.

Industrial Base

The package includes $600 million for “investments in the solid rocket motor industrial base … and emerging solid rocket motor industrial base,” dominated by Northrop Grumman, and $42 million to develop “second sources for large-diameter solid rocket motors for hypersonic missiles.” A possible benefactor of these funds is L3Harris’ Aerojet Rocketdyne unit, which is the next-largest maker of SRMs after Northrop.

Another section included $1 billion “for the creation of next-generation automated munitions production factories,” but it wasn’t specified whether these funds supported relatively simple items like artillery shells or new low-cost cruise missile factories like those recently announced by Anduril.

About $1.5 billion, collectively, was provided for joint prototyping experimentation, acceleration of 5G and 6G technologies, and cross-service networking and kill chain development. Some $3 billion was allotted to the Defense Innovation Unit to pursue dual-use “innovative technologies” applicable to both the commercial world and defense, aimed at lowering costs for defense needs.

The package also includes $2.5 billion in funding to assist mines in gearing up to increase their production of critical materials, such as rare Earth elements, through the National Defense Stockpile program.