According to the bimonthly website of the US National Interest, U.S. President Trump promised to increase the defense budget to $1 trillion.

  In 2023, the British Daily Mail predicted that the US military expenditure would exceed the trillion mark within five years, but now it is still conservative.

  $1 trillion, the highest annual military budget ever, is about 12% higher than $895 billion in fiscal 2025.

  However, where did the newly added hundreds of billions of dollars come from?

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  Pentagon, USA. Photo/AP  

  Trump has hinted that the money will be raised through the Musk-led ministry of efficiency to cut spending in other areas. In other words, it is to "demolite the east wall and repair the west wall."  

  For example, take the Medicaid and Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program that relies on the livelihoods of 72 million Americans.  

  New York University predicts that the relevant federal budget may be cut by $1.11 trillion over the next 10 years, "could cause more families in the United States to go hungry and worsen their health." 

  For example, from the Pentagon to various military branches, the US military was required to cut off 40% of its expenditure in five years.  

  According to the US Newsweek, the US Army plans to lay off 90,000 people, saving US$7.2 billion in military spending each year. The Pentagon is also preparing to dismiss 60,000 civilian employees, and can dig out about $5 billion every year.  

  According to rough statistics, the above measures can save US$120 billion, which is basically equivalent to the new military expenditure. 

  And between the increase and decrease, where are the trillion-dollar military spending of the United States? 

  The Global Firepower website said that about 20% of the US defense expenditure is paid, 40% is spent on daily training, operation and maintenance of personnel and equipment, and 40% is spent on procurement, research and development.  

  Judging from the focus of US military construction in 2025, there are five strategic directions - main combat weapons of sea, land and air, nuclear arsenal, missile defense capabilities, long-range strike firepower, space orbit system and cyber warfare.  

  Among them, the main combat weapons of sea, land and air are the largest "gold-swalking beasts".  

  Take the US defense budget for fiscal year 2025 as an example: the US Air Force cut off $61 billion to purchase various types of aircraft. The U.S. Navy spent $48 billion to order six warships. The US Army plans to purchase new tactical assault vehicles, amphibious combat vehicles and wheeled armored vehicles for $13 billion.  

  The procurement expenditure of equipment of the US Army, Navy and Air Force alone reached US$122 billion, which alone has exceeded the military expenditure of most countries in the world in 2024.  

  So, is $1 trillion enough to spend? It's really not certain. Foreign media said that the US military's equipment procurement costs will continue to rise in fiscal 2026.

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  U.S. President Trump announced that Boeing won the F-47 contract. Photo/AP  

  Taking the three major U.S. military branches as an example, the US Air Force's sixth-generation aircraft F-47 is priced at US$320 million, and the project is expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The new carrier-based aircraft F/A-XX that is being bid for is also known as the sixth-generation stealth aircraft, which will also "explosively grow" the US Navy's budget after it is put into production.

  In comparison, the US Army spent about $6.5 billion to purchase 500 M10 tanks in installments in 10 years, which is simply a "savory expert". 

  In addition, the U.S. Navy has also formulated an ambitious 30-year shipbuilding plan, which plans to increase the number of ships from 295 to 390 by 2054.  

  The US Congress Budget Office said that excluding retired scrap ships, the US Navy hopes to build 364 new ships in the next 30 years, with an average of about 12 ships per year, with a total cost of $1.2 trillion.

  Updating the nuclear arsenal and building a missile defense system is also a huge expense. In fiscal year 2025, the United States allocated 28.4 billion yuan for anti-missile construction, which does not include the "Golden Dome" missile defense system just launched by the Trump administration. 

  It is reported that this project, which claims to provide "from heaven to earth" protection for the entire United States, has been named the "Star Wars" plan in the new century by the US media, and it is difficult to say how much money it will cost in the future. 

  In the space field and cyberspace, the US military has also maintained huge investment, allocating more than US$48 billion in fiscal year 2025. If the space-based weapons of the "Golden Dome" system are added in the future, spending will inevitably surge.

  In order to accelerate the research and development and equipment of hypersonic weapons, the United States has invested nearly 10 billion US dollars this year, and it will only be higher in the future. For example, the US military plans to install the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile at the end of the year to purchase 1,000 units of the order is US$41 billion.

  Faced with the bottomless military expenditure that is digging deeper and deeper, foreign media said bluntly after finishing the accounts: 1 trillion US dollars will be exhausted soon and "I'm afraid it's not enough."

  But can the United States achieve the goal of "rapid reconstruction of armed forces" by significantly increasing military spending?

  US media once optimistically said that the newly added US$105 billion can build eight Ford-class aircraft carriers for the US Navy. The latest report released by the US Government Accountability Agency poured it with a basin of ice water on the back.

  The report said that in the past 20 years, the US Navy's shipbuilding budget has doubled, but not only has the number of ships not increased, but the delivery time has been generally delayed by 1 to 4 years, and the costs have soared.

  The report pointed out that the delay in budget procurement processes, the loss of a large number of skilled workers, and the aging of shipyard equipment and facilities are the main reasons for the slow shipbuilding of the US Navy, the high cost and the sub-standard ship performance.

  As the United States launches a global trade war, the backlash effect further hits its defense industry.

  According to the US Newsweek, due to the restricted supply of rare earths, the US military's F-47 project may be frustrated. The Pentagon also admitted that the production gap of fifth-generation aircraft, anti-missile systems and cyber warfare equipment is as high as 37%.

  It can be seen that long-term "de-industrialization" and foreign tariff bullying are the real culprits of the shrinking manufacturing industry and supply chain disruption in the United States.

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  The empty egg window in American stores. Photo/USA Today website

  What's more, in order to promote hegemony, we are desperately increasing military spending, and even making enemies on all sides. How long will the United States run wildly in the arms race that is destined to "hit the wall"?

  According to the U.S. House of Representatives website, the scale of U.S. debt has exceeded US$36 trillion, which is 122% of GDP, and the interest rate is even higher than military expenditure.

  The resulting huge inflationary pressure and tariff burden have increased US household spending by about $20,000 each year, and people's livelihood difficulties are becoming increasingly prominent.

  Taking the "egg famine" that lasted for several months as an example, just as the American people were struggling to "can't buy" or "can't afford" a small egg, the top U.S. officials wantonly cut their livelihood funds and handed them to military giants for increasing the production of bullets, shells, bombs, missiles, and nuclear bombs.

  US Defense Secretary Hegsaith declared, "We will spend every penny of taxpayers on lethality and combat readiness." Rather than bombs than eggs, such absurd logic is the best footnote to the United States' superstition of military militancy and being deeply involved in the vicious cycle of military expenditure.

[Editor in charge: Wang Jinzhi]