46Driver
"It's a mother beautiful bridge, and it's gon
More interesting news that my buds from the fleet sent.
Defense Daily
July 9, 2004
Pg. 7
DoD Appeals House, Senate Cuts To FY '05 Budget
By Amy Butler
The Pentagon sent its first volley of appeals to congressional appropriators, pleading with lawmakers to restore funding to a slew of key Pentagon programs--including military space efforts, the Navy's VXX presidential helicopter and V-22 tiltrotor aircraft, the Army's Future Combat System (FCS) and a joint effort to develop an aerial combat drone.
The appeals are meant to persuade lawmakers who are now conferring on a final version of the FY '05 defense spending bill; Capitol Hill intends to complete the work by the end of the month. Proposed cuts to the Pentagon's to next-generation and so-called transformational space programs--the Space Based Radar (SBR) and Transformational Communications System (TCS)--are among the most visible offered by lawmakers to the Defense Department's $401.7 billion budget request for FY '05. The president requested $774.8 million for TCS while the Senate offered a drastic cut of $400 million and the House proposed a reduction of $100 million. Senators cited concern with maturity of key technologies.
DoD argues, however, that cutting TCS and thereby delaying fielding of this radically new communications system would put "at risk the entire DoD future warfighting strategy." TCS is the foundation on which several other transformational programs--like the Army's FCS and various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will rely.
Should the Senate's proposed deep cut find its way into law, DoD argues that the department will be forced to invest in "substantially less capable gapfiller systems resulting in a total increased space communications cost of between $750 million and $1.5 billion." The House's proposed $100 million cut would delay by about four months the planned November 2011 maiden launch.
Furthermore, the Pentagon attempts to allay the Senate's concerns about cost; TCS cost estimates have increased dramatically over time. Originally planned at roughly $6 billion, according to a source, TCS cost is now pegged at roughly $18 billion, not including rocket boosters. DoD officials attributed that increase to better information about the system gleaned during the past year's "detailed technical and cost analyses" to meet requirements.
"The increase in FY '05 reflects a risk management approach that uses two major competing contractors with multiple subcontractors to perform necessary technology risk reduction and system definition work," the appeal says.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA] are working under separate, $470 million contracts to refine their versions of the system.
The department also appeals a crippling cut proposed by House appropriators to the Pentagon's SBR program, which intends to field a constellation of satellites capable of surveiling moving ground targets from space. House appropriators sliced $252.7 million from the main SBR funding line, leaving only $75 million to continue the effort as a technology development program and to remove it from the acquisition track. House lawmakers also propose cutting $110 million from two, separate Joint Military Intelligence Program line items also funding related SBR work.
Senators slated the effort for a $100 million cut.
House language explaining the cuts include a litany of concerns--namely that the system would top out at some $60 billion.
In its appeal, the Pentagon takes issue with this figure, saying, "House cost estimates for SBR do not agree with Department estimates and appear to be extrapolated from outdated information." Perhaps the worst criticism offered by House lawmakers is that the program will not achieve its stated goal of providing some "persistent surveillance" to Pentagon leaders; legislators argue that the nine-satellite constellation included in the existing budget would only provide marginal intelligence value. DoD, on the contrary, reiterates the SBR is a "major building block" to fulfilling the goal of persistent surveillance.
SBR efforts have long been unwelcome by Congress. Only a few years ago, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee killed the Discoverer II on-orbit SBR demo effort due to cost concerns. At that time, lawmakers raised a concern over whether DoD and the intelligence community could process the massive amounts of data to be collected by the radars. In their appeal, Pentagon officials hearken back to that concern.
"The House reduction in the SBR-related JMIP budget will delay the research and development needed to create a persistent tasking, processing, exploitation and dissemination capability." Furthermore, the cuts would result in the "likely termination" of the development contracts now under way for SBR. Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Lockheed Martin are competing under two, separate $220 million SBR contracts.
Senators suggested slicing $200 million from the Air Force-Navy program to develop a family of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV). The Pentagon requested $710 million for the effort in FY '05. The cut would delay by around 18 months the beginning of the department's operational assessment of air vehicles now under construction by Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
Additionally, it would eliminate two of six vehicles included in the operational assessment and bring about a "significant decrease in the [assessment's] scope," according to the Pentagon's appeal. DoD also urges lawmakers to adopt a mile cut to the president's $304.2 million request for the Navy's V-22 tiltrotor program. A Boeing-Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] team is building the aircraft, which would move troops and cargo more quickly and longer distances that current helicopters. House lawmakers proposed a $51 million cut to the research and development account, while the Senate reduces it by $15 million.
The House cut could force the Pentagon to "consider stand down" of additional flight test aircraft and end development flight test activities in June 2005, according to DoD's appeal. Already the program has fallen behind due to fatal crashes a few years ago and, more recently, an investigation of the V-22's software stability, and DoD officials note that at least $9 million of the House cut must be restored to continue those critical flight tests.
Pentagon officials also come to the aid of the Navy's VXX presidential transport helicopter program. DoD says in its appeal that the program has been accelerated to field a highly survivable technology for presidential transport sooner than earlier plans. Both houses, however, slice $220 million from the president's $777.4 million request. "Any funding reduction will result in the inability to procure the necessary aircraft quantities to execute the VXX program in accordance with the accelerated White House schedule," the appeal says. Sikorsky [UTX] and a team including Lockheed Martin, AgustaWestland and Bell are competing for the work.
DoD officials are willing to accept a small Senate reduction to the Army's FCS effort. Senators suggest nipping $165 million from FCS--the Army's plan to begin networking its soldiers.
A Boeing-Science Applications International Corp. team is developing FCS. House lawmakers urge a $324.4 million reduction restructuring the program into six projects. The House cuts would cause a delay in the first increment of FCS capability, DoD says. Further, the Pentagon opposes a $15 million cut from the Senate to the Non Line of Sight Launch System because it provides the "only organic, all-weather system capable of defeating soft- and hard-skinned targets across the extended depth and breadth of the FCS-equipped unit of action battlespace."
The Pentagon, according to DoD officials, may dispatch more appeals.
Defense Daily
July 9, 2004
Pg. 7
DoD Appeals House, Senate Cuts To FY '05 Budget
By Amy Butler
The Pentagon sent its first volley of appeals to congressional appropriators, pleading with lawmakers to restore funding to a slew of key Pentagon programs--including military space efforts, the Navy's VXX presidential helicopter and V-22 tiltrotor aircraft, the Army's Future Combat System (FCS) and a joint effort to develop an aerial combat drone.
The appeals are meant to persuade lawmakers who are now conferring on a final version of the FY '05 defense spending bill; Capitol Hill intends to complete the work by the end of the month. Proposed cuts to the Pentagon's to next-generation and so-called transformational space programs--the Space Based Radar (SBR) and Transformational Communications System (TCS)--are among the most visible offered by lawmakers to the Defense Department's $401.7 billion budget request for FY '05. The president requested $774.8 million for TCS while the Senate offered a drastic cut of $400 million and the House proposed a reduction of $100 million. Senators cited concern with maturity of key technologies.
DoD argues, however, that cutting TCS and thereby delaying fielding of this radically new communications system would put "at risk the entire DoD future warfighting strategy." TCS is the foundation on which several other transformational programs--like the Army's FCS and various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will rely.
Should the Senate's proposed deep cut find its way into law, DoD argues that the department will be forced to invest in "substantially less capable gapfiller systems resulting in a total increased space communications cost of between $750 million and $1.5 billion." The House's proposed $100 million cut would delay by about four months the planned November 2011 maiden launch.
Furthermore, the Pentagon attempts to allay the Senate's concerns about cost; TCS cost estimates have increased dramatically over time. Originally planned at roughly $6 billion, according to a source, TCS cost is now pegged at roughly $18 billion, not including rocket boosters. DoD officials attributed that increase to better information about the system gleaned during the past year's "detailed technical and cost analyses" to meet requirements.
"The increase in FY '05 reflects a risk management approach that uses two major competing contractors with multiple subcontractors to perform necessary technology risk reduction and system definition work," the appeal says.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA] are working under separate, $470 million contracts to refine their versions of the system.
The department also appeals a crippling cut proposed by House appropriators to the Pentagon's SBR program, which intends to field a constellation of satellites capable of surveiling moving ground targets from space. House appropriators sliced $252.7 million from the main SBR funding line, leaving only $75 million to continue the effort as a technology development program and to remove it from the acquisition track. House lawmakers also propose cutting $110 million from two, separate Joint Military Intelligence Program line items also funding related SBR work.
Senators slated the effort for a $100 million cut.
House language explaining the cuts include a litany of concerns--namely that the system would top out at some $60 billion.
In its appeal, the Pentagon takes issue with this figure, saying, "House cost estimates for SBR do not agree with Department estimates and appear to be extrapolated from outdated information." Perhaps the worst criticism offered by House lawmakers is that the program will not achieve its stated goal of providing some "persistent surveillance" to Pentagon leaders; legislators argue that the nine-satellite constellation included in the existing budget would only provide marginal intelligence value. DoD, on the contrary, reiterates the SBR is a "major building block" to fulfilling the goal of persistent surveillance.
SBR efforts have long been unwelcome by Congress. Only a few years ago, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee killed the Discoverer II on-orbit SBR demo effort due to cost concerns. At that time, lawmakers raised a concern over whether DoD and the intelligence community could process the massive amounts of data to be collected by the radars. In their appeal, Pentagon officials hearken back to that concern.
"The House reduction in the SBR-related JMIP budget will delay the research and development needed to create a persistent tasking, processing, exploitation and dissemination capability." Furthermore, the cuts would result in the "likely termination" of the development contracts now under way for SBR. Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Lockheed Martin are competing under two, separate $220 million SBR contracts.
Senators suggested slicing $200 million from the Air Force-Navy program to develop a family of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV). The Pentagon requested $710 million for the effort in FY '05. The cut would delay by around 18 months the beginning of the department's operational assessment of air vehicles now under construction by Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
Additionally, it would eliminate two of six vehicles included in the operational assessment and bring about a "significant decrease in the [assessment's] scope," according to the Pentagon's appeal. DoD also urges lawmakers to adopt a mile cut to the president's $304.2 million request for the Navy's V-22 tiltrotor program. A Boeing-Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] team is building the aircraft, which would move troops and cargo more quickly and longer distances that current helicopters. House lawmakers proposed a $51 million cut to the research and development account, while the Senate reduces it by $15 million.
The House cut could force the Pentagon to "consider stand down" of additional flight test aircraft and end development flight test activities in June 2005, according to DoD's appeal. Already the program has fallen behind due to fatal crashes a few years ago and, more recently, an investigation of the V-22's software stability, and DoD officials note that at least $9 million of the House cut must be restored to continue those critical flight tests.
Pentagon officials also come to the aid of the Navy's VXX presidential transport helicopter program. DoD says in its appeal that the program has been accelerated to field a highly survivable technology for presidential transport sooner than earlier plans. Both houses, however, slice $220 million from the president's $777.4 million request. "Any funding reduction will result in the inability to procure the necessary aircraft quantities to execute the VXX program in accordance with the accelerated White House schedule," the appeal says. Sikorsky [UTX] and a team including Lockheed Martin, AgustaWestland and Bell are competing for the work.
DoD officials are willing to accept a small Senate reduction to the Army's FCS effort. Senators suggest nipping $165 million from FCS--the Army's plan to begin networking its soldiers.
A Boeing-Science Applications International Corp. team is developing FCS. House lawmakers urge a $324.4 million reduction restructuring the program into six projects. The House cuts would cause a delay in the first increment of FCS capability, DoD says. Further, the Pentagon opposes a $15 million cut from the Senate to the Non Line of Sight Launch System because it provides the "only organic, all-weather system capable of defeating soft- and hard-skinned targets across the extended depth and breadth of the FCS-equipped unit of action battlespace."
The Pentagon, according to DoD officials, may dispatch more appeals.
