US military spending continues to soar with the Pentagon on Monday asking Congress for a record $515bn to fund the armed services in fiscal 2009.

The military base budget funds everything from military salaries to big-ticket weapons, but does not include money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The $515bn (£261bn) request represents a 7.5 per cent increase from last year, and translates into the 11th consecutive annual increase for the defence department.