The projections represent real growth of 2.6 percent annually, said Todd Harrison, a defense budget analyst with the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington.
“But the level of procurement spending is about 5 percent less each year from fiscal 2012 to 2016 than the administration previously proposed,” Harrison said. “So they are starting from a lower amount and then growing, but the total dollar amount planned is significantly less than previously projected.”