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Weapons funding being squeezed, group says

A new report from a defense industry association warns that money for modernizing weapons systems is being squeezed out of the military budget by personnel and operating costs and by the need to reset the force after extended and heavy use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The report by the Aerospace Industries Association, released Tuesday, says U.S. national security “is now in serious danger.”

“Across the fleet, aircraft are aging as never before,” the report says. “All of our military services are in need of modernization and recapitalization as a result of deferred procurement following the fall of the Soviet Union. Upgrading key national defense capabilities and maintaining readiness will require a generation-long national security investment strategy.”

Because the report comes from the AIA’s National Security Council, it is no surprise that it finds a “particularly acute” need for military aircraft.

The funding problem could be resolved by increasing the overall defense budget, but the report says that will not be as simple as it sounds. It predicts that defense budget increases will be made more difficult by a combination of political pressure to cut defense spending after U.S. involvement is reduced in Iraq, and competing budgetary needs, including growing federal entitlements, budget deficits and “pent-up demand” for spending on nondefense programs.

Growth in operations and maintenance costs, the rising cost of active-duty personnel and the need to fund reset and recapitalization “will give U.S. decision makers far less latitude and flexibility to respond to long-deferred aerospace modernization and recapitalization needs,” the report says.

“Even if the country were to increase defense spending, the next administration will have to address emerging resource challenges internal to the DoD budget,” it adds.