News

The U.S. Army since 1995 has spent at least $32 billion on development, testing and evaluation of 22 weapons programs that were later canceled -- almost a third of its budget for creating new weapons, according to an internal evaluation released today.Todd Harrison, defense budget analyst for the Center for Strategic and Budget Assessments, a private Washington study group, this week likened the situation to “Hollow Growth” where “acquisition costs increased while the inventory of equipment grew smaller and older.”Harrison calculated that since 2001 the Pentagon and military services canceled 12 programs on which $46 billion was spent. His list included seven of the biggest Army terminations.

One of the big-ticket items in any budget deal will have to be the defense budget/…/ Having less money means deciding what is and isn't going to be done, determining the real dangers that the country is going to face in the next decade and the likelihood of those dangers occurring.

If you've been paying attention, you may have heard that President Obama has pledged to cut $400 billion out of security spending between now and 2023. But what you may not know is that the $400 billion won't be a cut as far as Joe and Jane Taxpayer are concerned.Todd Harrison, Washington's defense-budget wizard, says letting Pentagon spending grow along with inflation, between now and 2023, actually will yield more than the $400 billion in savings Obama is seeking. Keep your eye on the ball here: the $400 billion in cuts aren't cuts as you and I understand them -- they are reductions in the projected future rate of growth. And because defense spending has close to doubled over the past decade -- with future spending increases folded into future budget plans as naturally as dew forms on the morning grass -- the U.S. military finds trimming its future spending to the rate of inflation a near-death experience.

Despite President Obama's mandate that the defense spending be cut by $400 billion during the next 12 years, the Pentagon has proposed its highest budget adjusted for inflation since World War II – further evidence that the Pentagon is facing many of the budget-busting expenses as Congress itself. Just as Congress considers reining in expenses for Medicare, the Pentagon is struggling with rising health-care costs, as well as congressionally enacted pay raises for servicemen and women.

The Pentagon is speeding up life-saving military gear to troops in Afghanistan under a new "fast lane" system run a by a small group of senior Defense officials and put in place by then-Defense secretary Robert Gates.

The U.S. Air Force's new Long Range Strike (LRS) family of systems will not consist of multiple aircraft types, as widely believed. Instead, the service will most likely develop a single bomber airframe that will be able to conduct a range of missions, says the service's deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements.