By Julian E. Barnes
WASHINGTON--The Pentagon has proposed a $495.6 billion plan for
the 2015 budget year, a 0.4% decrease from the budget approved by
Congress for 2014. Although a slight decrease, rising personnel
costs will require offsetting cutbacks in every branch of the
military, encompassing proposals to retire A-10 aircraft, scout
helicopters and other aging weaponry.
The Pentagon unveiled the highlights of its budget last week,
including a sizable cut to the active-duty Army, that will bring
the force down from 520,000 today to between 440,000 and 450,000 in
the coming years.
In budget documents submitted Tuesday, the Pentagon is proposing
nearly $80 billion in war funding for 2015, although that figure is
"a placeholder," pending a final request. The number likely will be
contingent on how many troops President Barack Obama's
administration decides to keep in Afghanistan in 2015.
The base budget includes some new military investments,
including on cyber space efforts, special operation forces and
missile defense. The budget includes a $100 million program to
design a new "kill vehicle" for the ground-based interceptor
missiles as well as an additional Terminal High-Altitude Area
Defense battery, which would bring the total number to seven.
The Pentagon also has proposed using additional funds from an
Obama administration spending initiative to purchase new aircraft
and pay for military construction around the country. The $26.4
billion--tied to the Obama administration's separate "Opportunity,
Growth and Security Initiative"--will support $4.5 billion in
military construction and base support.
Much of the spending would go to speed new military-weapons
acquisitions, which have been slowed in recent years to save money.
That would include $600 million for 26 AH-64 Apache attack
helicopters, 200 million for 12 new MQ-9 Reaper drones, $300
million for 2 F-35 fighter planes, $1.1 billion for 10 C-130-J
cargo planes and $1.1 billion for eight P-8A Poseidon
anti-submarine planes.
Write to Julian E. Barnes at julian.barnes@wsj.com
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