DoD Proposes $154 Billion for New Weapons, R&D in 2015

The Pentagon released its fiscal 2015 budget proposal Tuesday.

Mar. 4, 2014 - By MARCUS WEISGERBER – Defense News

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to cut weapon purchases slightly in fiscal 2015, but still plans to invest $153.9 billion for new aircraft, ships, satellites, ground systems and other equipment.

The US Defense Department’s modernization investments — which includes procurement and research-and-development accounts — fell only 3.6 percent despite federal budget caps. The numbers were disclosed in DoD’s $496 billion 2015 budget proposal, which the Obama administration sent to Congress on Tuesday.

Research-and-development accounts in DoD’s base budget were not hit as deeply as expected, falling $1.7 billion, or 2.6 percent from the 2014 enacted spending levels.

Defense leaders for the past year have stressed their desire to protect research-and-development funding, despite defense spending cuts.

Procurement fell a little steeper, falling $3.8 billion, or 4 percent, below the 2014 enacted level.

Moreover, the White House’s “opportunity, growth and security” initiative, which is separate from the Pentagon’s 2015 base budget, includes nearly $4 billion for procurement of military aircraft.

If Congress approves the extra proposal, it would boost Pentagon modernization spending close to the $159.7 billion enacted by Congress in 2014.

The additional proposal includes procurement money for:

■ 26 Boeing Apache helicopters ($600 million).

■ 28 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters ($500 million).

■ 2 Boeing Chinook helicopters ($100 million)

■ 8 Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft ($1.1 billion).

■ 10 Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft ($1.1 billion).

■ 2 Lockheed F-35 joint strike fighters ($300 million).

■ 12 General Atomics MQ-9 UAVs ($200 million).