Also, the Army wants to begin buying 1,928 sophisticated Comanche helicopters and 824 advanced howitzer and resupply vehicles by mid-decade. Most analysts doubt the Pentagon will ever find the money to buy all of the new equipment over the next decade as scheduled. But experts say competing budget priorities usually win out and planned increases are rarely, fully achieved. And even if the latest plan is, they say, it still would not be enough. Pentagon spending on weapons and equipment, 1974-2005.
Numbers are in billions of dollars.
Some of the money for the new weapons is expected to come from shrinking the research and development part of the Pentagon's budget. As many of the new weapons systems move into production, their research and development budgets should reduce. But there also are elements of the military, the Army in particular, arguing for strengthening research and development to prepare the forces for new types of challenges that could emerge in the next century. Last week, Army leaders announced plans to transform its tank-heavy force into a lighter, more mobile force through the development and use of new technologies. By and large, the Pentagon has had trouble freeing up big money from other areas of its budget.