Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
The services' FY-18 unfunded priorities lists are top of this Friday INSIDER Daily Digest.
The Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps have billions of dollars' worth of unfunded priorities they would love to see Congress pay for:
Air Force's $10.7B wish list would ramp F-35 procurement to 60 in FY-18
The Air Force's $10.7 billion unfunded priorities list for fiscal year 2018 would pay for 14 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft -- enough to bring the Air Force to its desired 60-jet-per-year procurement rate sooner than expected.
Document: Air Force's FY-18 unfunded priorities list
Army seeks additional $12.7B in FY-18; focused on SPAR priorities
The Army has prepared a list of $12.7 billion in unfunded requirements in fiscal year 2018, dedicating $4.9 billion to the top priorities highlighted by service leadership and $3.1 billion to growing the force.
Document: Army's FY-18 unfunded priorities list
Navy requests additional $5.46B in unfunded priorities for FY-18
The Navy is requesting an additional $5.46 billion in a fiscal year 2018 unfunded priorities list, according to documents obtained by Inside Defense.
Document: Navy's FY-18 unfunded priorities list
Marines send Congress $3.1B wish list; seek six additional F-35s
The Marine Corps has sent Congress a $3.1 billion unfunded priorities list that includes six additional F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, according to documents obtained by Inside Defense.
Meanwhile, the Navy and Marine Corps could see a decrease in the number of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft bought in the coming years:
Pentagon cuts 11 Osprey aircraft worth nearly $800 million from FY-18 to FY-22 plan
The Pentagon's fiscal year 2018 budget request proposes trimming 11 aircraft -- or 17 percent -- from planned MV-22 Osprey aircraft purchases across the Navy and Marine Corps' five-year spending forecast, while also seeking authorization for a seven-year block buy of the Bell-Boeing-built weapon system.
The Navy is still trying to figure out how to pay for a second Littoral Combat Ship in next year's budget:
Navy has not identified offset to pay for second Littoral Combat Ship
The Navy has not identified a budget offset to pay for a second Littoral Combat Ship in the fiscal year 2018 request and does not plan to do so until July, Inside Defense has learned.
Most defense contractor executives are still forecasting growth, but expectations for a large-scale spending hike seem to have cooled:
Defense contractors plan for modest growth rather than promised military buildup
In the weeks following the presidential election, optimism rippled through the defense industry as contractors talked of the military buildup promised by the newly elected President Trump.
The Pentagon's secretive Strategic Capabilities Office has a bunch of new projects included in the FY-18 budget:
Pentagon proposes converting existing vessels into 'Ghost Fleet' and other new FY-18 projects
The Pentagon is seeking funding for a new "Ghost Fleet" project in fiscal year 2018 to launch a prototype, unmanned maritime naval force to fulfill existing combatant commander requirements, one of nine new-start projects the secretive Strategic Capabilities Office seeks in its $1.1 billion FY-18 research and development spending request.
DOD's overall R&D budget stands to get a sizeable boost next year:
Pentagon's chief technologist touts R&D boost in new budget request
The Pentagon's research and development enterprise would see a 19 percent boost under the fiscal year 2018 budget proposal, which a senior defense official says reflects the military's commitment to investing in modernization after years of neglect.
This week's Inside the Air Force has news on the service's depleted munitions stocks, the Joint Strike Fighter program, a new strike weapon, nuclear missiles, helicopter programs and the B-52 engine:
Air Force plans to replenish much of depleted munitions stocks through OCO
Munitions procurement, largely funded through the overseas contingency operations account to continue the fight against insurgent groups in the Middle East, would soar if the Air Force's fiscal year 2018 budget request is approved.
F-35 program office, services prioritizing deficiency fixes as SDD closes
As the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program approaches the end of the system development and demonstration phase, program stakeholders have spent the last year evaluating and prioritizing open deficiencies discovered during testing to ensure that mission-critical flaws are fixed before the development program ends.
Air Force kicks off 'stand-in attack weapon' program in FY-18 budget request
The Air Force is working toward buying a strike weapon, flown on next-generation fighters and bombers, to pursue "rapidly relocatable" targets in denied combat zones, according to the service's fiscal year 2018 budget request, which was released last week.
Air Force FY-18 budget request sheds light on nuclear missile TMRR awards
The Air Force's fiscal year 2018 budget request appears to solidify plans to award one company a technology-maturation and risk-reduction contract for the Long-Range Standoff Weapon and contracts to two companies for the same phase in the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program.
Helicopter programs see schedule, funding shifts in FY-18 request
The Air Force is asking for $354.5 million in its fiscal year 2018 research and development budget for the Combat Rescue Helicopter program, which passed the critical design review for its platform in May.
Pratt & Whitney promotes B-52 engine upgrade as Air Force mulls options
WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- The Air Force's fiscal year 2018 budget request would provide a modest $10 million to continue developing a business case to modify or replace the workhorse B-52's TF33 engine, and engine-maker Pratt & Whitney said this week it still believes its proposed upgrade plan is the lowest-risk and most cost-effective option.