Pentagon's proposed 2021 defense budget would increase military research spending, eliminate legacy aircraft

Feb. 11, 2020
Among the tough choices: retiring 17 B-1 bombers, 44 A-10 planes, 24 Global Hawk drones, as well as 16 KC-10 and 13 KC-135 tankers from the Air Force.

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump’s defense budget request for fiscal 2021 includes major investments in research and development portfolios as well as “crucial” technologies as part of what the Pentagon is branding an “irreversible implementation” of the National Defense Strategy. Defense News reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

11 Feb. 2020 -- However, the budget also features overall cuts to the Army and Navy top lines, as well as the divestment of legacy aircraft from the Air Force.

The president is requesting $705 billion for the Defense Department, including $69 billion in overseas contingency operations, or OCO, wartime funds. Total national security spending, including for the National Nuclear Security Administration and other outside agencies, is $740 billion, as set by a congressional budget agreement last year.

Although not included in the budget documents, total top-line projections over the Future Years Defense Program, or FYDP, are $722 billion in FY22, $737 billion in FY23, $753 billion in FY24, and $768 billion in FY25, according to a senior defense official.

Related: 2020 defense budget ignites conflicts between supporting legacy weapon systems and new approaches like cyber

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John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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