According to an internal budget document, the Pentagon’s $170 billion procurement request for the new fiscal year focuses on replacing munitions supplied to Ukraine and weapons like long-range missiles. A total of $170 billion will be spent on weapon purchases, with another 145 billion spent on research and development of new types of weapons.
The Pentagon will request $76.8 billion for the Navy and Marine Corps, including $32.8 billion for new ship construction; $61 billion for the Air Force, which includes the United States Space Force; and $24.4 billion for the Army. The R-1 research and development document requests $145 billion in total, with the Air Force receiving $46 billion, the Navy receiving $27 billion, and the Army receiving $15.7 billion.
The Pentagon will release the documents Monday as part of its detailed disclosure of the budget request for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Amongst the largest research and development recipients are $3.7 billion for the Northrop Grumman Corp.’s new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, $3 billion for B-21 bomber development and $2.3 billion for the “Next Generation Air Dominance” programme which aims to replace the F-22 Raptor. Highlights of the munition’s requests include: —$951 million for 550 Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missiles. —$928 million for 831 Navy/Air Force AMRAAM. —$886 million to buy 5,016 GMLRS rockets. —$639 million to buy 91 Navy Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles. —$400 million to buy M-Shorad, a new version of the Stinger. —$308 million for 78 MK-48 advanced torpedoes. —$199 million to buy 541 Javelin anti-armour missiles. —$179 million to buy 28 HIMARS.
Notable non-munition procurement requests by the Army, Navy and Air Force include: —91 AMPV Armoured Multi-Purpose Vehicles. —48 Air Force F-35s. —42 AH-64E upgraded Apache attack helicopters. —34 M1A2 tanks to be upgraded. —33 Mobile Protected Firepower light tanks. —24 F-15EX fighters —15 additional KC-46 refuelling tankers —Eight Navy Conventional Prompt Strike ship-launched hypersonic missiles. —Seven MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters. —Two Navy Constellation-class FFG frigates. —Two Virginia-class submarines. —Two DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. China announced a 7.2 per cent increase in its defence budget for 2024, more than 2022’s 7.1 per cent.
