The Trump administration has submitted a defense budget request of $1.5 trillion — the largest proposed increase in Pentagon spending since World War II. The request comes while the U.S. is actively engaged in military operations against Iran and faces ongoing commitments across multiple theaters.

The scale of the number is difficult to contextualize. The current defense budget is already the largest in the world by a significant margin. A $1.5 trillion request would push American military spending to a level without modern precedent in peacetime or wartime framing.