The Army proposes $29 billion in cost savings over five years, including termination of the Surface Launched Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (SLAMRAAM) and Non-Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS- LS) as part of a major Defense Department effort to save more than $150 billion over five years.
Savings from the Raytheon [RTN]-produced SLAMRAAM, and the NetFires LLC, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin [LMT] joint venture NLOS-LS–a next generation missile launcher that was part of the Future Combat System–will be reinvested to strengthen warfighting capabilities.
“Through comprehensive capability portfolio reviews the Army proposed savings by terminating or reducing weapons systems with declining relevance or unnecessary redundancy,” Secretary John McHugh said in a statement.
The Army would also reduce manning by more than 1,000 positions by eliminating unneeded task forces and consolidating six installation management commands into four; save $1.4 billion in military construction costs by sustaining existing facilities; and consolidating the service’s e-mail infrastructure and data centers, which should save $500 million over five years.
“These savings will help DoD achieve its goal over the next five years, but more importantly, it will enable the Army to reprioritize resources to fulfill urgent needs,” McHugh said. “The Army proposes reinvesting these cost savings to accelerate fielding of capabilities needed by Army forces in the fight, preserving force structure as we reconstitute the force, building full-spectrum readiness and strategic flexibility, increasing soldier and family resiliency and modernizing the force for future conflicts.”
Defense Secretary Gates said the Army would use its savings to provide improved suicide prevention and substance abuse counseling for soldiers.
The service would also use savings to modernize its Abrams tanks and Stryker wheeled armored vehicles, both produced by General Dynamics [GD]; and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, built by BAE Systems.
Other savings would be used to accelerate fielding to the soldier level of the Army’s new tactical communications network.
In response to the demand from ground commanders, Gates said the service would accelerate procurement of the service’s most advanced Grey Eagle UAVs produced by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems; buy more MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft to support ground forces, and begin development of a new vertical unmanned air system to support the Army in the future.
Additionally, Gates said, though it was not his “intent or preference,” of the $100 billion in savings identified by the service departments, approximately $28 billion will be used over the next five years by the Army and the other services to deal with higher than expected operating expenses such as fuel, maintenance, health care and training costs.
Under the Gates efficiency effort, the service will also likely lose some officer billets deemed unnecessary in the post-Cold War world or set up post-9/11 and now unneeded or overtaken by other activities. Also, the Army’s active duty end strength would drop by 27,000 troops starting in 2014, though that would depend on the condition-based withdrawal strategy in Afghanistan.
In missile defense, Gates is proposing more funding for long-range defense interceptors that will support the president’s Phased Adaptive Approach in Europe and extend that level of protection to the continental United States.
“In order to improve theater defense, we will also purchase additional advanced radar systems that have been requested by combatant commanders in Europe, the Pacific and Middle East,” he said.
“In partnership with DoD, the Army will continue to ensure the taxpayer’s resources are put to the most efficient use in this time of fiscal constraint,” McHugh said.