A new report by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) says our nation and military suffer when spending is cut for procurement, research and development.
The Defense Investment: Finding the Right Balance report says defense investment accounts are often the first to be cut during times of budgetary constraints. However, this is counterproductive for our troops who rely on having a tactical advantage through technological superiority, the report claims.
“The investment accounts not only support current operations—as we are witnessing every day—they also provide the future capabilities needed to address threats that may emerge and ensure that our forces will always have the tactical advantage that technological superiority provides,” said Marion C. Blakey, president and CEO of the AIA, in the report.
The report notes that the current standard of procurement spending is about $90 to $100 thousand per service member, which is about 22 percent of the DoD budget, slightly higher than the average for the past four decades. The report recommends that 35 percent of the defense budget be devoted to modernization accounts to enhance the technical capabilities of defense and offset limitations such as troop reductions.
"We all recognize the need to address the nation’s debt and deficit spending," Blakey stated in the report. "On the surface, defense investments are easy reductions. But with a worldwide mission and a limited number of service members, we must make up in technological capability what we lack in numbers."
The report cites Defense Secretary Gates efficiencies initiative as a key strategy that supports modernization efforts. Gates’ efficiency initiative outlined $100 billion in overhead cuts and seeks to reinvest the savings toward military equipment. The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Buck McKeon, supported the initiative and has vowed to make any cuts to defense that is not used to reinvest in other defense initiatives.
“A defense budget in decline portends an America in decline,” McKeon said. Cutting the defense budget would have geopolitical consequences and “undermine our ability to project power, strengthen our adversaries and weaken our alliances.”
