Pentagon Requests $1.5 B Reprogramming to Fund AI Compute Center and MV‑75 Tiltrotor Program

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has asked Congress to approve a reallocation of roughly $1.5 billion from fiscal years 2026 and 2025. The funds would support a top‑priority artificial‑intelligence initiative, sustain a new Army helicopter program, and adjust resources for projects impacted by Iran’s operations, according to a reprogramming request.

A reprogramming proposal transmitted to Congress in July — reviewed by Breaking Defense — proposes to shift $1.2 billion in FY 26 funds and $212 million in FY 25 funds. The request, originally reported by Inside Defense, awaits action from the congressional defense committees.

The largest single item reallocates $600 million in FY 26 funds to “immediately” construct and equip a classified, high‑performance AI computing center. The money would cover advanced hardware, infrastructure, and integration services, enabling the Pentagon to expand AI and machine‑learning capabilities across the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS), the document explains.

The document calls the effort “a Secretary of War high‑priority initiative—an emergent, must‑pay requirement essential to preserving technological overmatch and decision superiority,” using the administration’s preferred terminology for the defense secretary.

The department cautions that “denying or delaying this funding will generate critical bottlenecks in combat operations, intelligence processing, and cybersecurity modernization, severely undermining the Department’s capacity to execute the mandated modernization strategy.”

The Army’s flagship modernization program, the MV‑75 Cheyenne tiltrotor, would be the second‑largest recipient of the reprogrammed funds. The money is deemed essential to avert a stop‑work order that would otherwise halt the project’s progress, according to the request.

The Army seeks to shift roughly $230 million in FY 26 and $120 million in FY 25 into MV‑75 research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). This would bring the total RDT&E request to $1.45 billion for FY 26 and $1.37 billion for FY 25.

Absent the funds, prime contractor Textron may issue a stop‑work order as soon as mid‑July 2026, “delaying MV‑75 prototypes, initial production, and fielding,” the document warns. “A funding shortfall also threatens the layoff of 5,000 workers across 1,500 companies in the industrial base.”

The reprogramming would provide Textron with resources to build and test eight MV‑75 prototype aircraft “in preparation for FY 2028 production,” the document notes. The funds will also finance completion of the Critical Design Review this fiscal year and “address cost escalations from the prime vendor and key suppliers.”

Textron declined to comment when reached for comment and previously told Breaking Defense that it would not discuss the program following a Bloomberg report on the possible stop‑work order. The Army also did not respond to a request for comment.

Pentagon Reprogramming Increases Funding for Drones and Counter‑UAS Systems

Congress has not yet taken action on the Trump administration’s supplemental FY 26 funding request, which would reimburse the department for roughly $67 billion in costs linked to the Iran conflict, such as ongoing operations and munitions spending. Although the reprogramming does not request major new appropriations for those challenges, the war has prompted several modest funding adjustments, moving resources both into and out of key accounts.

The department proposes adding $18 million for Army drone acquisitions, intended to purchase six additional long‑endurance unmanned aerial systems, multi‑mission payloads, attrition air vehicles, support equipment, and spare parts, “including support to Operation Epic Fury,” the document says.

Concurrently, the Pentagon plans to withdraw $130 million in FY 26 and $36 million in FY 25 from the Counter‑Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Train and Equip Fund, which supports partner training in the Middle East. The cut reflects an $80 million reduction for Iraq and a $50 million reduction for Syria.

The department justified the transfer, stating, “U.S. force‑protection posture during Operation Epic Fury has weakened the Department of War’s capacity to collaborate with regional partner forces.” “Moreover, the phased integration of our Syrian partner force with the new government is affecting Counter‑ISIS training and equipment activities.”

Beyond Operation Epic Fury, the reprogramming would allocate $36 million to accelerate the Common Tactical Command and Control system and to support testing of counter‑unmanned aerial system (C‑UAS) technology.

The enhanced command‑and‑control capability “directly supports key initiatives, such as establishing an integrated defense for the National Capital Region, creating a USCENTCOM integration factory, and delivering assets to Joint Task Force Southern Border and the Joint C‑UAS University,” the document notes.

Additionally, $40 million would be shifted to the Pentagon’s acquisition and sustainment enterprise for “Cyber Integration and Logistics Systems Modernization,” aiming to enhance supply‑chain cybersecurity and improve acquisition oversight.

A further $40 million would fund a classified initiative under U.S. Special Operations Command.

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