WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush submitted Congress on Monday a budget proposal totaling 481.4 billion U.S. dollars for the Pentagon's regular spending in fiscal2008, a rise of 11.3 percent over the current financial year.

    Strategic modernization will receive 176.8 billion dollars, or 38 percent, readiness and support will receive 146.5 billion dollars, or 30 percent, and military pay and health care for 2.1 million active- and reserve-component troops and their families, 137 billion dollars, or 28 percent of the request.

    Family housing and facilities improvement would get 21.1 billion dollars, roughly 4 percent of the request.

    Under the proposal, the active-duty Army, which now has 484,000soldiers, will grow to 547,400 by the end of fiscal 2012. With the increase, the Army will expand to 48 from 42 brigades. The Marine Corps will grow to 202,000 by fiscal 2012 from 175,000.

    If the budget is approved by Congress, the Army will receive 130.1 billion dollars in fiscal 2008 starting on Oct. 1 this year, for an increase of more than 20 percent. The Navy will receive 119.3 billion dollars, up 9 percent.

    The Marine Corps will receive 20.5 billion dollars, up 4.3 percent, and the Air Force will receive 136.6 billion dollars, an increase of 8.2 percent.

    The U.S. Special Operations Command will add nearly 3,000 special operators in 2008 and more than 10,000 over the next five years.

    The proposed budget asks for 3.8 billion dollars for 20F-22 Raptor fighters for the Air Force, and a further 743 million dollars for research and development.

    Under the proposed budget:

    -- The Air Force and Navy each will receive six F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at 2.6 billion dollars, and continued research and development for the F-35 is set at 3.4 billion dollars in fiscal 2008;

    -- The Navy will receive 24 F/A-18E/F Hornet jet fighters at 2.4 billion dollars and 18 E/A-18G Growler aircraft at 1.3 billion dollars;

    -- The Army's Future Combat System will receive 3.7 billion dollars in research and development funds; and

    -- Shipbuilding will receive 14.4 billion dollars for a CVN-21 next-generation aircraft carrier, a Virginia-class sub, an amphibious assault ship, a logistics ship, three littoral combat ships. Continued funding will also be provided for two DDG-1000-class destroyers and another amphibious assault ship.

    The budget proposal requests 6 billion dollars for command and control, navigation, strategic/tactical communications and weather satellites, which includes the next generation NAVSTAR Global Positioning System satellite constellation.

    In the budget proposal, Bush also requested 235.1 billion dollars for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan next year through 2008, including 141.7 billion dollars for fiscal 2008and an emergency funding of 93.4 billion dollars for the wars this year.