“The outcome of Putin’s cruel and unprovoked war of choice against Ukraine will define global security for decades to come, and we remain determined to meet the moment,” so wrote US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin in his summary of the Department of Defense budget estimate for 2025. Despite the budget and other primary documents and assessments from the DoD, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Intelligence Community recognizing China as the prevailing threat to US national security, it is Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine that Secretary Austin highlights as shaping US defense priorities.

On March 9, 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) published its projected budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, which is currently under review by Congress. Guided by the National Defense Strategy (NDS), this budget aims to address both immediate and long-term security challenges by identifying potential threats and outlining strategic objectives. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) plays a key role in threat assessment. The budget for FY 2025 is set at a record high of $849.8 billion, up from $842 billion last year.