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DoD Releases Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Proposal

Today President Donald J. Trump sent Congress a proposed budget request of $639.1 billion, $574.5 billion in the base budget and $64.6 billion in the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budget. This budget request is $52 billion above the defense budget cap in the Budget and Control Act (BCA) of 2011.

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, 70 aircraft; $10.3 billion
KC-46 Tanker, 15 aircraft; $3.1 billion
B-21 Bomber, $2.0 billion
Virginia Class Submarine, 2 ships; $5.5 billion
DDG-51 Destroyers, 2 ships, $4.0 billion
CVN-78 Class Aircraft Carrier, 1 ship, $4.6 billion
Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, 2,647 vehicles; $1.1 billion

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The Air Force’s Fiscal 2018 budget, released on Tuesday, requests $132.4 billion in the baseline “blue budget” and $13.9 billion for overseas contingency operations.

It increases the overall end strength to 502,000—up 4,100 Active Duty members and 1,700 Air Guard and Reserve

46 F-35A
15 KC-46
16 MQ-9
5 MC-130J
2 HC-130J
HH-60 Combat Rescue Helicopter would get $354 millions

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Heads-up display to give Soldiers improved situational awareness
By David VergunMay 19, 2017

WASHINGTON (Army News Service) -- A novel technology called "Tactical Augmented Reality," or TAR, is now helping Soldiers precisely locate their positions, as well as the locations of friends and foes, said Richard Nabors.

It even enables them to see in the dark, all with a heads-up display device that looks like night-vision goggles, or NGV, he added. So in essence, TAR replaces NVG, GPS, plus it does much more.

Nabors, an associate for strategic planning at U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, or CERDEC, spoke about TAR at the Pentagon's Lab Day, Thursday.

Currently, most Soldiers use a hand-held GPS system that approximates their position, he said, but only if their device is geo-registered to their location.

Geo-registration is the alignment of an observed image with a geodetically-calibrated reference image.

TAR does the geo-registration automatically, he said.

Staff Sgt. Ronald Geer, a counterterrorism non-commissioned officer at CERDEC's Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate, said that with TAR, Soldiers don't have to look down at their GPS device. In fact, they no longer need a separate GPS device because with TAR, the image is in the eyepiece, which is mounted to the Soldier's helmet in the same way NVG is mounted.

So what they would see, he said, is the terrain in front of them, overlaid with a map.

TAR is also designed to be used both day and night, he added.

Furthermore, Geer pointed out that the eyepiece is connected wirelessly to a tablet the Soldiers wear on their waist and it's wirelessly connected to a thermal site mounted on their rifle or carbine.

If a Soldier is pointing his or her weapon, the image of the target, plus other details like the distance to target, can be seen through the eyepiece.

The eyepiece even has a split screen, so for example, if the rifle is pointed rearward and the Soldier is looking forward, the image shows both views, he said.

Also, a Soldier behind a wall or other obstacle could lift the rifle over the wall and see through the sites via the heads-up display without exposing his or her head.

Finally, Geer said that TAR's wireless system allows a Soldier to share his or her images with other members of the squad. The tablet allows Soldiers to input information they need or to share their own information with others in their squad.

TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGH

David Fellowes, an electronics engineer at CERDEC, said that the key technological breakthrough was miniaturizing the image to fit into the tiny one-inch-by-one-inch eyepiece.

Current commercial technology compresses images into sizes small enough to fit into tablet and cell phone-sized windows, but getting a high-definition image into the very tiny eyepiece was a challenge that could not be met with commercial, off-the-shelf hardware.

Since about 2008, CERDEC, the Army Research Laboratory and industry have been working to make this miniaturization happen, he said.

By about 2010, the image was compressed enough to be shown in black and white, as well as a greenish monochrome version, he said.

Those systems have already been fielded to certain units, he said.

Currently, CERDEC is working on producing more advanced versions that are in full color and have a brightness display that can even be seen in daylight. The current monochrome versions are also bright enough to be seen in daylight.

Fellowes said he's not sure when those will be manufactured and fielded, but during user testing, Soldiers expressed their deep appreciation of the image sharpness and contrast.

He added that the TARs will provide Soldiers with a much higher level of situational awareness than they currently have and he said he fully expects that the devices will save lives and contribute to mission success

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Jura said:

here's the news about ... sea-marvels ... from the Navy budget chief, Rear Adm. Brian Luther: “We are not submitting an amendment (to the budget) for a second LCS…. I have not been directed to create or submit a second budget submission.”

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The Department of the Navy (DON) released its proposed $171.5 billion (Base) budget May 23, for fiscal year (FY) 2018.

This budget is part of the $762 billion (Base and OCO) defense budget President Donald Trump submitted to Congress the same day.

Rear Adm. Brian Luther, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget, briefed media during a Department of Defense press conference about the Navy and Marine Corps portion of the budget.

"In a challenging fiscal context, [DON's FY18 budget request] reflects the best balance of investments across people, presence, readiness and capability," Luther said. "Across the full scope of the request, we emphasized innovation and reform to sustain advantage, accelerate learning and strengthen our team."

This year's budget submission strives to restore Navy readiness. It includes a $54.6 billion (base) request for operations and maintenance, funding one hundred percent of projected ship depot maintenance and requesting the maximum executable amount for aviation depot maintenance and the flight hour program. The operations and maintenance request represents an emphasis on the importance of restoring wholeness in order to build capacity and improve lethality in the future.

The submission will build on current programs as well as invest in innovation to enable the Navy to compete in a fast-paced, complex global maritime environment - today and in the future. The submission includes a $49.5 billion (base) procurement budget that would buy eight new ships, fully fund the critical Columbia-class Ballistic Missile Submarine (SSBN) program and invest in high-tech systems including unmanned, cyber and directed energy weapons.

The budget supports our personnel by funding career-development initiatives and providing a 2.1 percent pay increase, in addition to developing and procuring the most cutting-edge platforms and weapons available, positioning service members and DON for success. It also continues to invest in the Tours with Industry Program, the Fleet Scholar Program and Sailor 2025.

The eight new ships the budget would purchase include one Ford-class aircraft carrier, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, two Virginia-class submarines and one littoral combat ship to prioritize stability in major combatant shipbuilding as the fleet continues to grow. Additionally, the budget funds 91 aircraft in FY18.

By fully funding the Columbia-class SSBN program, the FY18 budget maintains the Navy's commitment to provides the nation with a credible and survivable sea-based strategic deterrent.

In order to meet dynamic changes in the security environment of today, this year's submission includes $17.7 billion for research and development, supporting the Navy-Marine Corps team of the future through technological advantages designed to counter adversaries in all environments and across all spectrums.

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Release Date: 5/24/2017
From Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) departed Naval Station Norfolk for its second set of sea trials, known as acceptance trials (AT) May 24.

Acceptance Trials demonstrate to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) the ship's ability to conduct operations at sea and that the ship is constructed in accordance with contract specifications.

Over the next several days, CVN 78 Sailors will operate many of the ship's key systems and technologies, overseen by INSURV and the Navy's Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair and accompanied by shipbuilders from Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding.

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,

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, or

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.

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.

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Release Date: 5/24/2017
From Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) departed Naval Station Norfolk for its second set of sea trials, known as acceptance trials (AT) May 24.

Acceptance Trials demonstrate to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) the ship's ability to conduct operations at sea and that the ship is constructed in accordance with contract specifications.

Over the next several days, CVN 78 Sailors will operate many of the ship's key systems and technologies, overseen by INSURV and the Navy's Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair and accompanied by shipbuilders from Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding.

For more information, visit

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,

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, or

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.

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.

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Despite President Trump’s promise for a massive military buildup, the Marine Corps is not expected to grow any more next fiscal year.

If approved by Congress, the proposed Marine Corps' fiscal 2018 budget will keep active-duty end strength at 185,000, budget documents show. Lawmakers recently approved funding for the Corps to grow from 182,000 to 185,000 this fiscal year.

Trump, on the campaign trail last year, publicly endorsed recommendations from the Heritage Foundation think tank calling for adding 12 active-duty Marine infantry battalions and one active-duty tank battalion.

“We will build a Marine Corps based on 36 battalions, which the Heritage Foundation notes is the minimum needed to deal with major contingencies,” Trump said during a Sept. 7 speech, in which he called for a bigger U.S. military.

At this point, it is impossible to say whether future budgets will call for the Marine Corps to become larger, said retired Marine Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, the principal author of the Heritage Foundation’s review.

Although Trump has said he intends to increase the size of the military, and the House and Senate Armed Services committees have expressed support for the idea, other lawmakers do not want to increase defense spending without finding non-military spending cuts, Wood told Marine Corps Times Monday.

A Marine Corps force structure review has determined that the service needs to grow to at least 194,000 Marines to defeat future adversaries, Assistant Commandant Gen. Glenn Walters said in written testimony to Congress in February.

The force structure review concluded that the Corps needs to add Marines for information environment operations, counter unmanned aerial systems and air defense, anti-ship and sea control capability, and other capabilities needed for 21st century warfare.

“If you don’t have those things, whatever formation you put on the battlefield is not going to be as survivable or combat effective without them,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said in December.

One of the major challenges facing the Marine Corps is keeping its aging fleet of planes and helicopters flying. The proposed Corps budget does not accelerate the purchase of new aircraft. Next fiscal year, the Marine Corps expects to purchase 20 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters and four CH-53K King Stallion helicopters, budget documents show.

The Marine Corps plans to buy a total of 353 F-35Bs, and 67 F-35Cs to replace its F/A-18 Hornets, EA-6B Prowlers and AV-8B Harrier II jets by fiscal 2032. The fiscal 2017 appropriations bill passed by Congress calls for the Marine Corps to purchase a total of 18 F-35Bs and six F-35Cs this fiscal year — an increase of two of each F-35 variant, budget documents show.

Meanwhile, the Corps plans to buy 200 CH-53Ks to replace its fleet of 146 CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, which have the worst readiness rates of any Marine Corps aircraft. Each CH-53K costs $87.1 million, but when research and development and other costs are included, the total price tag balloons to $138.5 million per helicopter.

The Marine Corps is working to keep costs for the CH-53 under control, the program manager for U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy heavy lift helicopters told Marine Corps Times’ sister publication Defense News.

“[It’s not like] we’re sitting on our butts, just accepting that it’s going to cost this much,” Col. Hank Vanderborght said in an interview. “It’s like a war. We fight the war on cost every single day to get things at the best, absolute value for the taxpayer.”

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The

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-- racing to add thousands of soldiers to its ranks this year -- plans to hold end-strength flat in fiscal 2018 in part to boost funding for armored forces in Europe and missile defense systems.

The service has requested a total budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 of $166 billion, an increase of about $15 billion, or 10 percent, from the recently enacted fiscal 2017 spending plan, according to

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released by the Pentagon.

That topline figures includes a base budget of $137 billion and a war budget of $29 billion for overseas contingency operations, or OCO.

Excluding revolving funds, the budget line with the biggest percentage increase year-over-year was military construction, at 44 percent; followed by research and development, 25 percent; operation and maintenance, 13 percent; family housing, 10 percent; procurement, 7 percent; and personnel, 4 percent.

The spending plan "takes important steps to improve readiness and close some vulnerability gaps while supporting the groundwork for a future force ready to face the changing threats of tomorrow," said Maj. Gen. Thomas Horlander, director of Army budget.

"The recently enacted fiscal 2017 budget and this fiscal 2018 request are consistent with this administration's goals for the U.S. Army to rebuild readiness, reverse end-strength reduction and prepare for future challenges," he added.

End-Strength
The budget continues to support the increased end-strength of all components mandated in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, including the move to increase the active force from a previous target of 450,000 to 476,000 in fiscal 2017.

The Army is requesting $41.8 billion for a 476,000-member active force, $8.4 billion for a 343,000-member

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and $4.8 billion for the 199,000-member Reserve force, according to the 2018 figures.

The spending plan identifies air and missile defense, long-range fires and critical munitions shortfalls as the Army's top priorities for fiscal 2018. The items were identified through a Strategic Portfolio Analysis Review Process, Horlander said.

"The air and missile defense and the long-range fires represent the Army's most urgent and pressing capability needs," he said.

Air Defense, Long-Range Fires
"Given the possibility of confronting a force with anti-access and area-denial capabilities, the Army needs to advance its short-range air defense and long-range fires capabilities."

The budget funds 131

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Missile modification kits and the investment in the

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Surface to Air Missile system supports an interim modernization, Horlander said.

The Army is also investing $2.4 billion in science and technology for weapons and munitions advanced technology which will "demonstrate a mobile high-energy laser system designed to defeat multiple threats at the tactical range," Horlander said.

The research, development, test and evaluation budget invests in the Stinger and the Patriot missile system product improvement programs, He said.

For long-range fires to improve ability to respond to surface to surface fires from cannon and rocket artillery, this budget request includes funding for three of the Army's most critical fires systems:

• A service life extension of 121 expired Army Tactical Missile Systems which will add another 10 years of service life.
• Procurement of 6,000 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, compared to last year's 2,954 systems.
• Continues low-rate initial production of 93 Patriot Missile enhancements.

The budget request also funds the replenishment of key battlefield munitions such as the increased production of more than 88,000 unguided Hydra 70 rockets and the procurement of 998

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missiles, Horlander said.

Vehicle Protection
The Army funds the future procurement of

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to detect and defeat incoming anti-tank guided missile threats to

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Tank and

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fighting vehicles in the armored brigade combat team in Europe, Horlander said.

"We really need to have a more robust capability for a major force-on-force combat operation with near-peer competitors and those that have some pretty sizable armored formations," he said.

The budget also funds 135 modernized Bradley fighting vehicles and 2,110 Joint Light tactical vehicle 2,110 compared to last year's 1,828.

Aircraft procurement did take a hit in this budget -- $4.2 billion compared to last year's $4.9 billion.

Helicopters
The Army will procure 63

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E

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s, but only 48 UH60M

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helicopters compared to last year's buy of 60, according to budget documents. The Army will only buy six

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s, compared to 2017's purchase of 22 Chinooks.

The aviation portfolio is one of the largest in the modernization budget, accounting for about 25 percent, said Horlander, conceding that aviation assets had to be sacrificed for air and missile defense systems.

"There were certainly a couple of things we chose to fund as opposed to more aviation capabilities," Horlander said.

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President Donald Trump’s first proposed budget for the U.S. Air Force keeps the service’s top modernization priorities on track, but does not include the major boost to procurement programs that many defense hawks had hoped for.

Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget blueprint fully funds

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’s

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tanker and slightly increases planned buys of

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’s

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. It also adds research, development, test and evaluation funds for

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’s next-generation B-21 stealth bomber and the future Penetrating Counterair capability, according to budget documents released May 23. It also keeps lower-priority modernization programs on track—the T-X Advanced Pilot Trainer, Joint Stars Recap, and Air Force One recapitalization.

Crucially, the budget plan continues the focus on the other legs of the Air Force’s nuclear deterrent, including replacing the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile with a new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, replacing the Air Launched Cruise Missile with the Long Range Standoff Weapon, and recapitalizing the UH-1N Hueys used by the service’s nuclear forces to guard missile fields and transport VIPs.

Overall, Trump’s budget funds the Air Force at $183 billion, up from $171.2 billion in fiscal 2017, including $24.7 billion for procurement, $49.2 billion for operations and maintenance, and $25.4 billion for research, development, test and evaluation.

In addition to continuing investment in new equipment, Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget also funds upgrades of legacy assets. The Air Force will invest in the next increment of software for the F-22A, which provides increased weapons capability and improved data links. Budget documents seem to leave the door open to retiring the

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C/D fleet in the 2020s and replacing it with

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upgraded with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, but do not indicate a final decision either way. The service will continue modifying F-16 fighters with the AESA radar, which is crucial to homeland defense and evolving threats, according to budget documents. Meanwhile, the Air Force allots $7 million in fiscal 2018 for a Service Life Extension Program on its fuselage longerons, which will help reach the aircraft’s planned service life. The service has said it could cost $30-40 million per aircraft in total to keep the Eagle flying beyond the late 2020s, including rebuilding the center fuselage section.

The service will continue modifying F-16 fighters with the AESA radar, which is crucial to homeland defense and evolving threats, according to budget documents. The documents note that the legacy F-15C/D will need a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) on its fuselage longerons to reach its planned service life, but they do not specifically commit to the upgrade.

The Air Force also will continue to modernize its bomber fleet to extend the life of the legacy B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer, and stealthy B-2 Spirit. These upgrades include the B-52 Radar Modernization Program, B-2 EHF strategic communications, and the B-2 Defensive Management System-Modernization program.

Meanwhile, the Air Force will continue to fund the C-130H Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) Increment One—a programming and communications upgrade to comply with

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mandates—and Increment Two, which modernizes its cockpit. The service also will fund the

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Center Wing Box replacement, extending the aircraft’s service life.

Finally, the fiscal 2018 budget fully funds the entire fleet of 283 A-10s, a move in line with the Air Force’s announcement earlier this year that it will not begin to retire the fleet until 2021 at the earliest.

“Fleet strategy and viability will be assessed as the Air Force determines a long-term strategy,” budget documents state.

Looking ahead, the fiscal 2018 budget begins an increase in commitment to fielding Penetrating Counterair, the next-generation of air superiority fighter, according to the documents.

The Air Force is also focused on replenishing its weapons inventory. Since operations against Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria began in 2014, the service has expended over 50,000 weapons, drawing down current inventory levels. The fiscal 2018 budget request maximizes production capacity of certain munitions, including the

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and

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Increment I.

“The

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will look to invest in critical technologies and begin energizing the industrial base to ultimately provide air capability improvements focused on persistence, survivability, and lethality in the most highly contested environments,” according to the budget documents.

The budget also increases the Air Force’s end strength to 502,000 personnel.



Procurement:

• 46 F-35As

• 15 KC-46As

• 5 MC-130J Recaps

• 2 HC-130J Recaps

• 16 MQ-9A Reapers (OCO)

• 3

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Launch Opportunities

• 310

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Sidewinders

• 205

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Amraams

• 360

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Jassm-ERs

• 10,330 JDAMs (Base budget)

• 16,990 JDAMs (OCO)

• 399 AGM-114 Hellfires (Base)

• 3,230 AGM-114 Hellfires (OCO)

• 4,579/460 Small Diameter Bombs I/II (Base)

• 2,273 Small Diameter Bombs I/II (OCO)



RDT&E:

• $2B for B-21 Raider

• $611M for

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upgrades

• $451M for Long Range Standoff Missile

• $417M for Joint STARS Recap

• $354M for CRH

• $295M for Next Gen Air Dominance/Penetrating Counterair

• $216M for Ground Based Strategic Deterrent

• $434M for Presidential Aircraft Replacement

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Aircraft from the 23d Wing conducted a surge exercise May 22, 2017, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The exercise was conducted in order to demonstrate the wing’s ability to rapidly deploy combat ready forces across the globe. The 23d Wing maintains and operates A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, HH-60G Pave Hawks, and HC-130J Combat King II aircraft for precision attack, personnel recovery and combat support worldwide.

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