WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The Pentagon laid out a budget plan Wednesday that holds military spending steady next year without taking into account the cost of the war in Afghanistan or rolling automatic budget cuts.

President Barack Obama’s request of $526.6 billion for the Defense Department keeps the base budget at about the same level as in 2013, avoiding dramatic cuts to weapons or benefits.

But the proposal leaves out the cost of the war in Afghanistan, projected to surpass $80 billion in the current fiscal year. And it does not address automatic cuts that remain in force without a deal in a deadlocked Congress.

The Pentagon’s blueprint calls for investments in new aircraft, naval ships, precision-guided bombs and missile defense weaponry, while trying to slow the growth of pay and benefits ― currently a third of the military’s budget.

The plan includes 29 F-35 fighter jets, a warplane that is supposed to form the backbone of the military’s future fleet, 18 C-130 cargo aircraft and two Global Hawk surveillance drones.

It also calls for 27 Predator and Reaper armed drones ― Obama’s weapon of choice in the air war on al-Qaida militants in Pakistan and Yemen. Previous budgets called for much larger scale investments in drones but the Air Force wants to spend money on planes that can survive against tough air defenses.