Sec. Gates lists cuts to defense spending

Gates: Give FCS vehicles the ax

By Kris Osborn - Defense News
Posted : Monday Apr 6, 2009 16:04:03 EDT

The Pentagon should kill the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) armored vehicles program and launch a competition to supply new vehicles, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters April 6.

Gates revealed his FCS preference amid a slew of other recommendations for cuts and changes to weapon programs that will go to the White House as it shapes the 2010 budget request to Congress.

Gates also recommended that:

• The Air Force cap its F-22 Raptor program at 187 jets.

• The Pentagon accelerate the F-35 Lightning II strike fighter program.

• The Navy cap its DDG 1000 program at three ships to be built at Bath Iron Works, while restarting DDG 51 efforts by Northrop Grumman.

• The Air Force kill the Transformational Satellite Program and buy two Extremely High Frequency communications satellites instead.

• The Air Force cancel the CSAR-X search-and-rescue helicopter program.

• The Air Force kill the second Airborne Laser airplane while keeping the first one for research-and-development work.

• DoD reduce the proportion of its work done by contractors from 37 percent to the mid-20s.

• DoD convert 11,000 acquisition contracting jobs to DoD civilians, then hire 9,000 more acquisition officers.
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