Army $140.7 Billion FY ’09 Budget Request Continues Growth, Focuses On Soldiers, Balance

By Ann Roosevelt

The Army’s $140.7 billion request in the FY ’09 president’s budget request is $12.3 billion, or 9.6 percent higher than the $128.9 billion FY ’08 projected for enacted funds and is intended to balance immediate warfighting needs with developing systems soldiers need for the future.

The Army requests $51.8 billion, or 38 percent of the service budget, for military personnel. Another 29 percent, $40.2 billion, is requested for operation and maintenance. The procurement request of $24.6 billion makes up 17 percent of the budget, and 7 percent of the budget is the request for $10.5 billion for research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E).

The Army’s top 10 strategic modernization programs are as follows. All except for Future the Combat System (FCS) include procurement funds, but not RDT&E.

• $3.6 billion-FCS including the Non-Line-of-Sight-Cannon (NLOS-C) and Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS). FCS is managed for the Army by Boeing [BA] and SAIC [SAI]. BAE Systems is developing the NLOS-C; NetFires LLC, comprised of Raytheon [RTN] Lockheed Martin [LMT], is developing NLOS-LS.
• $1.9 billion-ammunition.
• $1.1 billion-Stryker vehicles. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics [GD].
• $1.1 billion CH-47 Chinook helicopter, including modifications. Boeing builds Chinooks.
• $1 billion-UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Sikorsky [UTX] produces Black Hawks.
• $1 billion-Patriot Air Defense System, including modifications.
• $945 million-Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). BAE produces FMTV.
• $947 million-Humvees. AM General builds Humvees.
• $923 million-Family of Heavy Tactical vehicles.
• $637 million, AH-64 Apache helicopter modifications. Boeing produces Apaches.

Specific research, development and acquisition budget requests include:

• $110 million for NLOS-C procurement; $90 million RDT&E.
• $200 million for NLOS-LS.
• $351 million for procurement of 29 M1A2 Abrams systems enhancement program tanks, and $342 million for M1 Abrams tank modifications. General Dynamics builds Abrams tanks.
• $1.2 billion to procure 119 Stryker vehicles for Stryker Brigade Combat Teams and non-Stryker brigades. The funding covers 79 Mobile Gun Systems, 40 NBC Reconnaissance vehicles, survivability enhancements and system support.
• $176 million to procure 21 M2A3 Bradley Vehicles and $312 million for M2A2 Bradley Operation Desert Storm systems enhancement program vehicles. BAE builds the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
• $151 million to procure 88,964 M4 carbines/combat optics machine guns in support of brigade combat team modularity efforts.

Army Aviation requests $5 billion that would allow it to replace the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior with the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) and retire the aging UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the Huey, and OH-58 Kiowas with the commercial off the shelf UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). The Army would also continue replacing aging C-12, C-23 and C-26 fixed-wing aircraft with the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft.

The service requests:

• $439 million to procure 28 ARHs. Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] builds the ARH.
• $224 million to procure 36 LUHs. The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) builds the LUH.
• $1.2 billion for 16 new and 23 remanufactured F-model CH-47 Cargo helicopters.
• $637 billion for AH-64 Apache upgrades/conversions, including 32 Longbow Block II models, target acquisition designation sight/pilot night vision sensors and other safety and reliability modifications.
• $1.1 billion UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
• $491 million for aircraft survivability equipment.

Twenty-three percent of the Army’s missile procurement–$512 million–is requested to buy 108 Patriot Advanced Capability missiles. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor on the PAC-3 Missile Segment upgrade to the Patriot air defense system. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the Patriot Weapon System and system integrator for the PAC-3 program.

The Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles program and equipment request is for $923 million. This request covers Palletized Load Systems, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks– both built by Oshkosh Truck Corp. [OSK], flat racks, movement tracking system and container handling system, all to fulfill the Army’s Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Modernization Strategy.

Also, to fulfill that strategy, the Army has requested $945 million to buy 3,171 vehicles to replace the venerable “deuce and a half” 2.5 ton and 5 ton trucks.

The Army also would spend $947 million to buy a total of 5,065 Humvees, including the XM1213 with integrated armor and an XM1167 TOW variant.

A funding request for $316 million would provide Night Vision, Thermal Weapon Sights for soldiers.

Additionally, the service requests $231 million for Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and below. The funding would procure 5,820 ground units, and 563 aviation variants.

Recruiting, training and supporting soldiers and their families take the majority of the FY ’09 budget request of $51.8 billion to include a 3.4 percent military pay raise, and permanent increase of 43,000 soldiers for the active component, and about 1,300 for the National Guard.

The budge request of $40.2 billion for operation and maintenance supports home station training for the increased number of units and change in mix associated with modularity. There will be increases in equipment and training funds for converting two brigade combat teams as well as fielding additional LUHs.

While paying for an increased number of soldiers and equipment, RDT&E continues its support for modernization and recapitalization.

Army themes set under Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey to sustain, prepare, reset and increase the service aims to mitigate near term risk and restore balance across the force by 2011.

Multi-year procurement contracts are also approved, specifically naming the Army’s CH-47 Chinook helicopter, M1A2 Abrams System Enhancement Package upgrades, and the M2A3/M3A3 Bradley upgrades, and FMTV.

The Army retains authority over certain unmanned aerial systems (UAS) specifically addressed in the budget request, backing up a Defense Department decision last year in response to the Air Force’s bid to become UAS executive agent.

Additionally, the FY ’09 budget specifies under the general provisions on funding transfers section that “none of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used to transfer research and development, acquisition or other program authority relating to current tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (TUAVs) from the Army.”

As well, budget language said, “the Army shall retain responsibility for and operational control of” the Extended Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) UAS.