DoD cuts could revitalize older programs

Budget

DoD cuts could revitalize older programs

The Washington Post reports that some of the budgetary cutbacks could mean a second chance for older defense systems.

Federal News Network Staff

January 19, 2011 3:13 pm

< a min read

Some see the proposed defense budgets cutbacks as a chance to revitalize older systems and programs that maybe haven’t been given a full chance.

As the Pentagon’s budget tightens, Analysts tell the Washington Post that DoD will be forced to work with the equipment it already owns.

For example, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the end of the Marine Corps’ amphibious assault vehicle program with prime contractor General Dynamics. Now DoD is going to put money toward repairing and upgrading its existing amphibious assault vehicle built by BAE Systems.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 strike-fighter aircraft program has been delayed. The Secretary says the Pentagon would buy more of Boeing’s F/A-18’s.

Todd Harrison, a defense analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, says the military has invested a lot in new programs in just the past few years. And many of them have not come to fruition. So DoD hasn’t spent as much on large-scale repair and the modernization of older equipment. And often the company that benefits is not the company whose program is canceled.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report. For more defense news, click here.