Washington DC, Feb. 19 -- Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has instructed top Pentagon and US military officials to prepare plans to reduce the defence budget by 8 per cent annually over the next five years, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

This proposal, which is expected to encounter significant opposition within the military and Congress, would also involve substantial budget cuts.

Hegseth's directive requires the proposed reductions to be submitted by February 24. The memo outlines 17 categories that the Trump administration wants to exclude from the cuts, including operations at the US-Mexico border, the modernisation of nuclear weapons and missile defence, and the purchase of one-way attack drones and other munit...