A draft budget obtained by Reuters contains major funding for new military systems and equipment for Afghanistan. The U.S. Army has proposed a $9.3 billion war budget for Afghanistan, part of the $33 billion the White House seeks for emergency war funding in fiscal 2011 as the U.S. military builds up its presence there.
A large part of the increased funding is slated for unmanned aerial vehicles, and to ramp up intelligence and surveillance efforts, according to Reuters. The proposed purchase list includes major items like "new helicopters, ground vehicles, missiles and ammunitions, and upgrades to existing equipment," the article notes.
New Equipment
The following is a list of the amounts and items requested, and the manufacturer:
- $486 million for targeting and surveillance sensors, built by Raytheon;
- $751 million for Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, most likely to be built by BAE Systems;
- $105 million to replace three Boeing CH-47 helicopters damaged in Iraq and Afghanistan;
- $187 million for 15 new Kiowa Warrior helicopters built by Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron;
- $190 million in Hellfire missiles from Lockheed Martin;
- $113 million in TOW 2 heavy anti-tank missiles built by Raytheon;
- $188 million for 418 Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles built by Oshkosh;
- $700 million in orders for ammunition, mostly from Alliant Techsystems and General Dynamics;
- $159 million in high-frequency radios built by Harris Corp;
- $226 million in Warlock jamming systems built by ITT Corp.
Upgrade of Existing Equipment
The following is a list of the amounts to be spent on modifications:
- $1.07 billion to rebuild and repair 6,670 existing Humvee trucks. No single contractor will benefit, according to Reuters;
- $445 million in improve protection of existing Stryker vehicles built by General Dynamics;
- $47 million in modifications for the Boeing CH-47 cargo helicopters;
- $199 million for modifications to the video feed capabilities of 288 AH-64 Apache helicopters, built by Boeing.
(U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Steven R. Doty) (RELEASED)
