So What Happens IF???????Cyber and unmanned war systems spared...

So What Happens IF???????

Cyber and unmanned war systems spared axe

Marjorie Censer
January 28, 2012



WASHINGTON: Budget cuts proposed by the Pentagon will hit nearly every part of the US defence industry, from makers of fighter jets and warships to providers of services such as information technology support.

Facing political pressure to trim spending, the Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, has proposed cutting the budget by $US487 billion ($459 billion) over the next decade, including $US259 billion over the first five years.

If approved, the cuts would result in slower production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet, and fewer purchases of the new Littoral combat ship and the Joint High Speed Vessel.

An army combat vehicle initiative would also move slower than originally predicted.

However, there were notable exceptions to the austerity.

The Pentagon is hoping to protect spending for building unmanned systems and developing new ones. Funding for an unmanned army system known as Gray Eagle would be spared, and the Pentagon vowed to invest in sea-based intelligence systems such as Fire Scout - a drone made by Northrop Grumman - and in space systems.

The Pentagon also wants to improve cyber-war capabilities, both defensive and offensive, which should help boost an industry growing near suburban Fort Meade in Maryland, where US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency are based.

But the overall impact on the defence industry would be substantial, even for contractors that expected shrinking budgets, Loren Thompson, a defence industry consultant, said.

''If an administration is willing to make these kinds of cuts during an election year, imagine what kind of cuts might occur in the years following,'' he said.

The plan also calls for retiring 27 ageing planes known as C-5As - aircraft used for moving troops and supplies - and 65 of the oldest C-130s, used for dropping off soldiers and equipment.

The Washington Post

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/cyber-and-unmanned-war-systems-spared-axe-20120127-1qllh.html#ixzz1khbhuKO8