Biden's defense budget seeks greater China deterrence and nuclear funding
- 4 years ago
U.S. President Joe Biden's $715 billion Department of Defense budget will shift funding from old systems to help modernize the nuclear arsenal to deter China, while also developing future warfare capabilities, people familiar with the budget said.
The defense spending request, which will be sent to Congress on Friday, is expected to contain investments in troop readyness, space, the Pacific Deterrence Initiative aimed at countering China's military build-up in the region and nuclear weapons technology, the people said.
The budget request would buy ships, jets and pay for maintenance and salaries, but an additional $38 billion is earmarked for defense-related programs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Energy and other agencies bringing the national security budget to $753 billion, a 1.7% increase over the 2021 figure.
There will also be money to further develop and test of hypersonic weapons and other "next generation" weapons systems as the military aims to build capabilities to counter Russia and China.
President's budget requests, including those for the military, are commonly a starting point for negotiations with Congress which ultimately decides how funds are spent.
The Pacific Deterrence Initiative, created to counter China, focuses on competition in the Indo-Pacific and aims to boost U.S. preparedness in the region through funding radars, satellites and missile systems.
To pay for this, people familiar with the shift said, the Pentagon is seeking to divest some of its older equipment with higher maintenance costs including four Littoral Combat Ships, several A-10 aircraft which provide close air support to ground troops, as well as the number of KC-10 and KC-135 planes in the mid-air refueling fleets.
Tensions with an increasingly assertive China are on the minds of U.S. military planners. Bejing accused the United States last week of threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait after a U.S. warship again sailed through the sensitive waterway.
Source: Reuters
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