The Pentagon was forced to cut $11.2 billion from modernization programs to help plug a $17 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2017, according to Defense Department Comptroller Mike McCord.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Tony Bertuca is chief editor of Inside the Pentagon, the flagship publication of InsideDefense, where he focuses on defense budget and acquisition policy. He previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in his hometown of Chicago, IL, and at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, NH. Tony has also served as managing editor of Inside the Army. He has a master's degree in journalism from Boston University.
The Pentagon was forced to cut $11.2 billion from modernization programs to help plug a $17 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2017, according to Defense Department Comptroller Mike McCord.
The Pentagon is seeking $184 billion in total weapon system modernization for fiscal year 2017, up from $177 billion sought in FY-16, according to newly released budget documents.
House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) is seeking up to an additional $23 billion in Pentagon overseas contingency operations spending in fiscal year 2017, on top of the $59 billion the Obama administration plans to propose for OCO on Tuesday, according to a recent letter.
It is budget week in Washington and the Defense Department is expected to roll out its official fiscal year 2017 request on Tuesday, followed by an array of Capitol Hill hearings to debate the budget and assess how it stacks up against the global security environment.
The Pentagon has set a new agenda for strategic portfolio reviews meant to shape FY-18 budget resourcing, specifically focusing on seven key areas, according to an internal memo signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work.
Here are some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
The Pentagon will request a $59 billion overseas contingency operations budget in fiscal year 2017, setting the stage for yet another fiscal showdown on Capitol Hill over defense spending.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Tuesday that the Pentagon would seek $3.4 billion in fiscal year 2017 to fund its European Reassurance Initiative aimed at deterring Russian military operations in Eastern Europe.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday revealed specific investments the Pentagon seeks to make in fiscal year 2017 to facilitate a broad shift in strategic priorities to address Middle East unrest and rising threats from Russia and China.
A defense budget analyst contends that the Air Force will likely use its F-35A Joint Strike Fighter program as a "bill-payer" in the fiscal year 2017 budget because of its increasing commitment to the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker and Long-Range Strike Bomber.
The week ahead is dominated by Defense Secretary Ash Carter's speech on the fiscal year 2017 budget, though Congress has scheduled a variety of hearings on acquisition reform and the security situation in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon's chief weapons tester is concerned that the Defense Department remains vulnerable to cyberattacks and is unable to properly test weapon systems given the shortage of experts and "red teams," who have been hired away by the private sector.
Here are some must-read stories from this week's issue of Inside the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter will have "something to say" about the fiscal year 2017 defense budget on Feb. 2, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.
A think tank report released today found that Pentagon spending on services contracts has largely been insulated from a declining defense budget, despite a significant drawdown in the U.S. military presence overseas and a desire in Congress and the Defense Department to funnel greater resources to other priorities.
A new think tank report details the coming "bow wave" in the defense modernization budget, pointing to the Air Force as the top contributor to the Pentagon's climbing future acquisition bill.
Most events and congressional hearings in and around Washington have been canceled or postponed this week as the nation's capital continues to dig out from under a record-setting blizzard, though the defense industry's top contractors are scheduled to hold quarterly earnings calls.
At a time when lawmakers are bristling over potential cuts to Navy shipbuilding and other potential weapon systems downsizing in the fiscal year 2017 budget, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is characterizing the Pentagon's search for new, game-changing technology as many small bets that may never yield the desired strategic outcome.
House GOP defense hawks are working through Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and his budget committee counterpart Tom Price (R-GA) to increase fiscal year 2017 defense spending via the overseas contingency operations account should the Obama administration propose amounts they perceive to be too low, according to sources.
The Pentagon has released a new directive to address the impacts of climate change that will affect the Defense Department's acquisition oversight structure.