Funding for some of the Pentagon\u2019s top technology research priorities will hold steady or decline slightly in fiscal 2025, according to the latest defense spending blueprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Defense Department is seeking $143.2 billion in research and development money for the coming fiscal year, documents published March 11 show. That\u2019s a decrease from last year\u2019s $145 billion request \u2014 the department\u2019s largest-ever innovation and modernization ask<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said constraints imposed by the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act are to blame for the somewhat smaller spending outlook. She told reporters during a briefing that the Pentagon did what it could to maintain funding for key technology accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEven under the FY25 cap, we continue to make investments in basic research, advanced technology, experimentation, artificial intelligence, and cyber and space capabilities,\u201d Hicks said<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t