Pentagon releases Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal

PRESIDENT DONALD Trump presented Congress with a proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget request on February 12.  The latest Pentagon spending plan includes major investment in emerging technologies as the US military seeks to shift emphasis from counter-terrorism operations to potential “great-power competition”.  The two-year budget agreement includes $700bn of defence funding in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 and $716bn in FY 2019.Major aerospace investments in the budget include:• 77 F-35As - $10.7bn   (48 for USAF,  29 for US Navy)• 15 KC-46s – $3.0bn• 24 F/A-18s - $2.0bn• 60 AH-64Es -  $1.3bn (12 new builds  and 48 remanufacture)• 6 VH-92s - $0.9bn• 10 P-8As - $2.2bn• 8 CH-53Ks - $1.6bnOne of the major beneficiaries will be the US Navy, set to receive $19bn for aircraft programmes, an increase of 26%.  The navy has requested 120 new aircraft for this year alone and wants to buy 110 more F/A-18E/Fs over the next five years.  Meanwhile, the navy will continue efforts to extend the service of its Super Hornets, including an airframe life extension, conformal fuel tanks, new computers and advanced cockpit displays. US Air Force R&D should get $30.4bn, up 18.8%.  This will fund programmes including the B-21 bomber ($2.3bn) and the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) ‘family of systems’.  Other efforts will help develop hypersonic strike weapons (both the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Capability and the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon), autonomous technology including swarming drones, cyber-integrated defences, electronic warfare, artificial intelligence and directed energy.  The USAF will also continue efforts to field a high-energy laser on a fighter.The USAF is aiming to spend $2.7bn more than originally planned over the next five years to accelerate NGAD, which is designed to ensure air superiority well into the century.  NGAD will also include a “renewed emphasis” on electronic warfare.The increasing focus on ‘near-peer’ foes is reflected in the emphasis on modernised nuclear weapons, including purchase of precision-guided tail-kits for the B61-12 tactical nuclear bomb and development of the AGM-180/181 Long-Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO, $0.6bn) that will arm the B-21 and B-52H.  For the latter bomber, a long-awaited re-engining programme should be kick-started with the help of $399m of funding.  The Stratofortress is set to outlive the B-1B and B-2A, according to the air force’s new ‘bomber vector’ proposal.  This envisages incremental retirement of the Lancer and Spirit once the B-21 arrives in numbers in the mid-2020s.  The air force had previously intended to operate the B-1 and B-52 until 2040, and the B-2 to 2058.“With an adequate sustainment and modernisation focus, including new engines, the B-52 has a projected service life through 2050, remaining a key part of the bomber enterprise well into the future,” said Gen Robin Rand, Air Force Global Strike Command commander.One notable victim of the funding plan is the USAF’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) replacement, which will be scrapped, pending Congressional approval.  Meanwhile, seven E-3s will receive improved cockpits and navigation systems.Perhaps surprisingly, the Pentagon aims to reduce planned purchases of the F-35 in the short-term, down from 341 to 329 aircraft in FY 2018-21.The USAF’s five-year Future Years Defense Program includes $2.4bn to procure a new fleet of light attack aircraft.  A planned combat demonstration has been ditched in favour of a second evaluation, involving the non-developmental AT-6 and A-29.  It will take place at Davis-Monthan Air Force, Arizona, from May to July.“Rather than do a combat demonstration, we have decided to work closely with industry to experiment with maintenance, data networking and sensors with the two most promising light attack aircraft – the AT-6 Wolverine and the A-29 Super Tucano,” said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson.  “This will let us gather the data needed for a rapid procurement.”

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