Sea Services Outline Modernization Push Under Proposed $1.5T Defense Budget

The Trump administration’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget increase aims to accelerate modernization, expand the nation’s industrial base and strengthen the technology backbone that underpins shipbuilding and force readiness. Leaders from the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard detailed Wednesday how expanded funding, procurement reform and industrial base investments will shape the future of the sea services during AFCEA/USNI WEST in San Diego, California.

Transforming the Coast Guard

The funding surge is expected to significantly reshape the Coast Guard. Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said the service “is undergoing the most significant transformation in over a century.”

Current appropriations include $25 billion for ships, technology and systems, lifting the service out of what Lunday described as a prolonged funding shortfall.

“We are getting a level of advocacy that we have not seen,” Lunday said.

Still, Lunday cautioned that sustained, predictable funding is critical. Any lapse could directly affect personnel levels and readiness. He noted that the Coast Guard is “a $20 billion organization funded at $13 billion.”

The increase enables the service to build and acquire 11 new Arctic cutters, expected to enter service by 2028. Operating and sustaining those cutters will require roughly 1,300 additional personnel — a workforce expansion that depends on stable, long-term appropriations, Lunday said.

Shipbuilding is a Key Priority

When asked about his top priority, Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle, said “shipbuilding, shipbuilding, shipbuilding.” Calling the effort an “all hands on deck” undertaking, Caudle said the Navy is exploring new approaches, acquisition models and production techniques to expand and sustain the fleet.

Central to that effort is procurement stability. Caudle argued that multiyear, predictable funding, rather than year-to-year congressional cycles, is essential for shipbuilders to invest in facilities, train skilled workers and deliver platforms on schedule.

Another priority is munitions. The Navy must build deeper magazines to sustain high-tempo operations against peer or near-peer adversaries. Strengthened counter-targeting capabilities, including defenses against missiles and aircraft, are equally vital to create a protective umbrella for naval operations.

Marine Corps Stress Lethality, Flexibility

For some years, the Marine Corps has shifted away from the insurgency-based warfare of its mission in Iraq and Afghanistan to prepare for high intensity conflict with near-peer adversaries. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith noted that recent War Department directives have helped clarify the service’s force design.

“We have a modern, lethal, mobile force,” he said.

While the service is fielding new equipment aligned with that vision, Smith emphasized that innovation cannot slow. Marines are continuously adapting technologies and tactics in response to rapidly evolving threats. Because adversaries are iterating quickly, he said, the U.S. must do the same. That requires a resilient, responsive industrial base capable of delivering advanced capabilities at speed.

“We can never iterate fast enough,” Smith said.