NEWS Headlines
PRESIDENT DONALD Trump presented Congress with a proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget request on February 12. The latest Pentagon spending plan includes major investment in emerging technologies as the US military seeks to shift emphasis from counterterrorism operations to potential “great-power competition”. The two-year budget agreement includes $700bn of defence funding in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 and $716bn in FY 2019.
Major aerospace investments in the budget include:
• 77 F-35As - $10.7bn (48 for USAF, 29 for US Navy)
• 15 KC-46s – $3.0bn
• 24 F/A-18s - $2.0bn
• 60 AH-64Es - $1.3bn (12 new builds and 48 remanufacture)
• 6 VH-92s - $0.9bn
• 10 P-8As - $2.2bn
• 8 CH-53Ks - $1.6bn
One of the major beneficiaries will be the US Navy, set to receive $19bn for aircraft programmes, an increase of 26%. The navy has requested 120 new aircraft for this year alone and wants to buy 110 more F/A-18E/Fs over the next five years. Meanwhile, the navy will continue efforts to extend the service of its Super Hornets, including an airframe life extension, conformal fuel tanks, new computers and advanced cockpit displays.
US Air Force R&D should get $30.4bn, up 18.8%. This will fund programmes including the…
