Eyeing China, Biden defense budget boosts research and cuts procurement – By Joe Gould (Defense News) / May 29 2021
WASHINGTON ― U.S. President Joe Biden’s first budget request for the Department of Defense slashes procurement by $8 billion, whacking scores of legacy weapons and systems as a way to deliver a $5.5 billion boost for the development and testing of cutting-edge technologies that could deter China.
The $715 billion Pentagon request for fiscal 2022, which was sent to Congress Friday, represents an $11 billion increase and trails the rate of inflation. A big chunk is what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has called the “largest ever” request for research, development, test and evaluation funding. The White House has proposed $112 billion in that area, a 5 percent increase.
On the flip side, procurement funding, the purchasing accounts used to buy new equipment, would fall nearly 6 percent to $133.6 billion. The budget would reclaim $2.4 billion in “defense reforms” and $2.8 billion from “divestments,” to include the retirements of A-10, F-15 and F-16 tactical aircraft and the decommissioning of Navy vessels to include four littoral combat ships and two cruisers.
