More than 150 military programs identified as fiscal 2027 “new starts” could face delays while the Pentagon operates under a continuing resolution, including proposed investments in drones, missile defense, hypersonic weapons, aircraft, air defense and naval systems. The count comes from a search of procurement and research, development, test and evaluation budget documents, so it is an indicator of the potential scope rather than an official list of affected programs. Breaking Defense noted that Pentagon budget documents can contain errors and that the department and military services had not provided a separate accounting of the programs affected.
A continuing resolution generally holds agencies to existing funding levels and prevents the Pentagon from beginning programs classified as new starts. The current measure is in place through Dec. 11. If lawmakers extend it or fail to pass a fiscal 2027 budget, programs could remain unable to begin, and the broader funding impasse could lead to another government shutdown.
The delay risk is especially significant for initiatives whose fiscal 2027 plans depend heavily on funding outside the base budget. The administration has proposed $17.5 billion for the Golden Dome national missile defense shield in FY27, but less than $400 million appears in the base budget. The remaining amount depends on a reconciliation effort. Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, who leads the program, said the effort would stop without continued funding, including work already built and delivered.
The proposed Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, or DAWG, faces a similar funding problem. The initiative is intended to absorb the earlier Replicator effort to acquire thousands of low-cost attritable drones, particularly for the Indo-Pacific. The Pentagon requested $54.6 billion in FY27 research-and-development funding for DAWG, including $1 billion in the base budget and $53.6 billion from reconciliation. The request would represent a 24,070 percent increase over FY26 spending on the program. Without a new budget and reconciliation legislation, the plans could be scaled back, although the size of any reduction has not been specified.
The Army’s budget documents list 29 new starts: 17 in procurement and 12 in research, development, test and evaluation. Among them are two funding lines for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, a surveillance aircraft based on Bombardier’s Global 6500 and developed with Sierra Nevada Corporation. The Army requested $131.7 million for platform and system integration and $15.3 million for micro-high-altitude balloons and their payloads.
The Army also requested $21 million for 34 heavy variants of the Infantry Squad Vehicle. In July, the service awarded other transaction authority agreements to three vendors, each expected to provide three prototype variants by March 30, 2027. Other procurement new starts cover unmanned and autonomous ground systems, engineering support, ammunition and small arms fire. The largest procurement request is $145 million for work at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee.
In research and development, the Army’s largest new start is $921.9 million for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, accompanied by $132.1 million for the AN/TPY-2 sensor. The next-largest request is $108.1 million for the Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense Increment 4 program, intended to protect dismounted maneuver forces. The remaining Army research and development items include directed-energy enhancements, tactical bridging, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle work and Arctic mobility sustainment.
The treatment of the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft illustrates why the count requires caution. The program initially appeared as a $127.2 million procurement new start, but the Army requested that the money be moved into research and development. Because the service has funded the aircraft through research and development for multiple years, the program is not considered a new start and is not affected by the continuing resolution under that classification.
The Department of the Navy has 17 new starts in the FY27 budget documents. They include proposed investments tied to the Golden Fleet, including approximately $1 billion in advance procurement and roughly $837 million in research and development for the Trump-class battleship. The Navy plans to seek approximately $17 billion in procurement funding for the first ship in FY28.
The Navy also seeks a new-start program for a submarine tender designed to support forward-based and expeditionary tending, resupply, depot and intermediate-level repair operations. The FY27 request calls for $4.4 billion for two tenders intended to support Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines as well as future submarine classes.
Space Force Gen. Douglass Schiess said the continuing resolution would slow the department while the perceived threat continued to advance. Connecticut Sen. Chris Coons, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, warned that lawmakers face a “mad dash” to avoid a full-year continuing resolution. The timing of a final fiscal 2027 budget, and whether Congress approves the additional funding mechanisms assumed in the Pentagon’s plans, will determine which proposed starts move forward and which remain pending.