Gates Urges Big Cut In US Weapons Programs

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US lawmakers give mixed welcome to Gates overhaul
US lawmakers gave a sharply mixed welcome Monday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates's plans to overhaul military spending, with some vowing to undo a dangerous wartime "gutting" of the Pentagon. Others warned against "myopically" focusing on current threats while curbing spending on projects that may one day be needed to deter potential threats from Iran, North Korea or even China and Russia. Gates drew praise from Senator John McCain, the Senate Armed Services Committee's top Republican, who said in a statement during a trip to Asia that the Pentagon's new outlook was "a major step in the right direction."

"It has long been necessary to shift spending away from weapon systems plagued by scheduling and cost overruns to ones that strike the correct balance between the needs of our deployed forces and the requirements for meeting the emerging threats of tomorrow," said McCain. But another Republican on the panel, Senator James Inhofe, denounced the Gates blueprint from a windy tarmac in Afghanistan and said lawmakers worried about US forces in harm's way must "try to keep this from taking place."

"I can't believe what we heard today," he said in a video on his official Internet site. "We have our men and women in uniform in harm's way, and we hear an announcement we're cutting, and I would say gutting, our military." Gates, a holdover from former president George W. Bush's administration, said his recommended budget for 2010 would "profoundly reform" military spending, calling for cuts to major weapons programs such as F-22 fighter jets. Gates said he was proposing canceling a new presidential helicopter, ending production of the F-22 Raptors and delaying ship building plans, while bolstering funding for surveillance drones and other resources for counter-insurgency campaigns like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. "In the absence of a more detailed description of the strategic underpinnings justifying his funding priorities -- including an assessment of the level of risk posed to US national security interests -- it is difficult to evaluate them in isolation," said Democratic Senator Jim Webb. Webb, a former secretary of the US Navy, signalled concerns about cuts in that service's abilituies, citing China's "rapid, comprehensive modernization of its armed forces, including its Navy."

"We in Congress must consider the secretary's proposal carefully in our oversight role. We will do so in the months ahead after the defense budget is formally delivered to Congress," said Webb. Democratic Representative John Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, called the proposals "an important first step in balancing the department's wants with our nation's needs. "However, the committee will carefully review the department's recommendations in the context of current and future threats when we receive the detailed fiscal year 2010 budget request," said Murtha.

Representative John McHugh, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said he was "concerned about the tradeoffs" in Gates's plan and warned it could amount to an eight-billion-dollar cut in military spending. Moreover, "just a day after North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile the secretary missed an opportunity to recommit to investment in missile defense capabilities," he said. Republican Representative Mike Coffman, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, also cited North Korea's launch but highlighted possible future clashes with countries like Russia or China. "We need to ensure we never myopically focus on today's threat environment at the expense of maintaining the conventional capabilities necessary to deter tomorrow's potential threats to US security interests by Iran, North Korea, China and Russia," he said.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) April 6, 2009
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday said his recommended budget would "profoundly reform" US military spending, calling for a scaling back of major weapons programs dating back to the Cold War.

Gates said he was proposing halting production of F-22 fighter jets, canceling a new presidential helicopter and delaying ship building plans, while bolstering funding for surveillance drones and other resources for counter-insurgency campaigns like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"If approved, these recommendations will profoundly reform how this department does business," Gates told a news conference.

The defense secretary said he had tried to balance the need to combat immediate threats poised by insurgents linked to terror networks, with more traditional threats associated with conventional warfare.

"Collectively, they (the recommendations) represent a budget crafted to reshape the priorities of America's defense establishment," he said.

The budget was designed to help "fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years to come," said Gates, whose proposals will likely face stiff opposition from some members of Congress.

The Pentagon chief said he recommended ending production for the F-22 Raptors, saying there was no need to greatly expand the aircraft fleet beyond the already approved production of 187.

The Raptors, equipped with radar-evading technology and built by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, cost about 350 million dollars each with initial plans dating to the Cold War.

The Air Force had proposed building nearly 400 of the aircraft.

Gates also called for cutting a planned addition to land-based missile defense weaponry in Alaska, canceling plans for more C-17 transport aircraft and scrapping a US Army vehicle that forms part of a hi-tech network known as Future Combat Systems.

Gates said he recommended delays in ship building that would mean the US fleet of aircraft carriers would drop to 10 ships instead of the usual 11 ships after 2040.

An Air Force search and rescue helicopter would also be cut under Gates' advice but more funds would be set aside to build additional F-35 aircraft.

He said his proposals sought to change the way the Pentagon manages defense contracts, which have been plagued by cost overruns and incessant delays.

In an unusual step, Gates said he briefed lawmakers about his recommendations before making his proposals public at the news conference.

"The president agreed to this unorthodox approach ... because of the scope and significance of the changes," in the recommended budget, he said.

The move suggested Gates and President Barack Obama were bracing for a political battle with lawmakers and influential defense industry contractors, who have often rebuffed past attempts to slash mammoth weapons projects.

The recommendations still need to be formally endorsed by the White House and then approved by Congress, where some lawmakers have vowed to fight for the weapons programs.

The country's top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, praised the secretary's recommendations, saying it was time the budget reflected the needs of counter-insurgency campaigns now underway.

"Some will argue he is tilting dangerously away from conventional capabilities. He is not," Mullen said in a statement.

"In truth, he is evening out what has been in this time of war a fairly lop-sided approach to defense acquisition," said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Gates said he was not seeking to ignore conventional threats.

"What people have lost sight of is that I am not trying to have irregular capability take the place of conventional" weapons, he said.

"I am trying to get the irregular guys to have a seat at the table."

The Pentagon did plan to go ahead with bidding this summer for a multi-billion contract to build a new fleet of aerial refueling tankers, Gates said.

The contract has pitted aerospace rivals Boeing against Northrup Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). A previous contract was awarded to Northrup and EADS but was cancelled after an appeal from Boeing.

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Analysis: European defense contracts

Brussels (UPI) Jan 26, 2009
French arms exports soared by almost 15 percent in 2008, the French government announced earlier this month. France hopes to further boost its international arms exports by finally creating overseas demand for its long-criticized Rafale fighter jet, manufactured by Dassault.

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