The spending, which includes an "ironclad commitment" to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, comes as part of the overall defense spending portion of the US budget, which totals US$925 billion (€799.7 billion), Kyiv Post reported.

The Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the Senate with 77 votes to 20 late Thursday but now needs to be reconciled with the House version before it can be enacted.

The BSI component of the NDAA will be around a half more than in recent years, at US$350 million (around €303 million) across all three Baltic states for each year 2026-2028.

"This is a much stronger commitment than the House version," a senior official told Kyiv Post, noting that the Senate's approach makes it more likely that the program will be fully established and resourced.

Financial allocation given by the U.S. to the security of all three Baltic states stood at US$225 million in 2023, rising to approximately US$228 million the following year and to approximately US$231 million for 2025.

The BSI was established in 2020 to enhance the independent defense capabilities of the Baltic States and improve interoperability between all three.

A proposal from 12 members of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations received that committee's approval in March this year, to allocate the US$350 million to the three Baltic states in each fiscal year from 2026 to 2028. 

Estonia's Ministry of Defense has confirmed the sum to ERR, meaning the BSI funds will have risen by around 56 percent, between 2023 and 2026, pending reconciling the Senate and House versions of the bill.

The vote ended a nine-day federal government shutdown and comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump has made a U-turn on Russia and Ukraine and the likely outcome of the war.

This follows a month of legislative gridlock, set against the backdrop of Russian drone and fighter jet incursions into NATO airspace in Estonia, Poland, and Romania, as well as a more specific recent violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets.

In addition, the Senate bill authorizes the delivery of HIMARS rocket systems to the Baltic states, including the scheduled transfer of HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to the Estonian Defense Forces in April 2025.

This will significantly enhance the rapid arming of the Baltic states and their continued support for Ukraine. Furthermore, the bill includes provisions to bring tanks to Estonia to replace HIMARS, further strengthening defense capabilities in the region.

BSI funds are also earmarked for modernizing the Baltic states' militaries and improving interoperability with US and NATO forces, which is critical given Russia's increasing activity in the region.

A separate resolution explicitly condemns Russia's recent incursions into NATO territory, reaffirming NATO's Article 5 commitment to collective self-defense. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) called these actions a "clear example of Russia's continued threats against NATO." The NDAA also mandates action on abducted Ukrainian children, elevating the issue to a core U.S. national security mission.

In terms of broader defense policy, the NDAA requires the U.S. Secretary of Defense to annually report on Russian "grayzone activities," such as sabotage and disinformation. The Senate also voted to repeal the 2002 Iraq War authorization, which officially shifts U.S. military focus from the Middle East to Russian threats. The Senate's vote demonstrates strong bipartisan support for this policy shift, with a consensus on the need to prioritize countering Russian aggression.

Despite political skirmishes, including the rejection of a Democratic-led push to limit National Guard use for law enforcement inside the U.S. and efforts to block funding for Trump's luxury jet retrofit, the NDAA passed with broad bipartisan backing.

Editor's note: This piece was updated to include figures for the BSI for 2026-2028.

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