Pentagon proposes more spending on tech, troops and intelligence, less for traditional arms

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday outlined sweeping changes to the Pentagon budget that would shift billions of dollars in spending away from elaborate weapons toward programs more likely to benefit troops in today's wars.

The proposal amounts to a radical change in the way the Pentagon would buy weapons. For decades, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons programs striving for revolutionary leaps, but often delivered years late and billions of dollars over budget. In proposing his 2010 budget, likely to face stiff resistance from Congress, Gates emphasized that he wanted to change the "priorities of America's defense establishment."

The effort to pare back weapons programs that Gates derided as "truly in the exquisite category" reflects a growing recognition in the Pentagon that the days of soaring defense budgets have ended. And it highlights Gates' long-stated desire to increase spending on surveillance systems and other relatively low-tech weapons best suited for guerrilla or irregular war, which traditionally has been an industry backwater.

"I'm just trying to get the irregular guys to have a seat at the table and to institutionalize some of the needs they have," he said.

To bolster the Afghan war effort, Gates would spend $2 billion more on intelligence and surveillance programs to track shadowy insurgents, $500 million to field more helicopters and an additional 2,800 special-operations personnel focused on counterterrorism. The $534 billion plan represents a $20 billion increase over 2009.

He recommended halting production of the Air Force's new F-22 fighter jet at 187 planes — four more than the current number — and killing the new presidential helicopter program.

Among weapons taking the biggest hits are the Navy's DDG-1000 destroyer, a stealthy ship whose cost has ballooned over the past decade. The Navy would purchase only three of the advanced ships and then revert to building the Arleigh-Burke Class destroyers that have been a mainstay of the fleet for years.

The Pentagon proposal also would dramatically cut back the Army's ambitious Future Combat Systems program, which consists of a network of advanced vehicles, unmanned surveillance aircraft and battlefield sensors. Specifically, Gates said he is canceling the $87 billion in the program set aside to develop a new generation of light armored vehicles that were meant to replace the heavy, 72-ton tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. These advanced vehicles, in development for almost a decade, were supposed to rely on better surveillance technology to compensate for their lack of armor.

The huge toll that low-tech roadside bombs have taken on Army and Marine Corps troops in Iraq and Afghanistan led Gates to conclude that such an approach was not feasible. Instead of pouring more money into the futuristic vehicles, Gates indicated he was more comfortable spending money on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle, based on a South African design that dates to the early 1990s.

He also set aside $2 billion for surveillance technology, such as Predator unmanned surveillance planes and other sensors that have proved their worth tracking down insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. An additional $11 billion is being reallocated within the budget to pay for a planned increase of 65,000 troops to the Army's ranks and an additional 27,000 Marines.

In unveiling his new priorities for the Pentagon, Gates acknowledged he likely would face opposition from lawmakers eager to protect jobs in their districts. "My hope is that members of Congress will rise above parochial interests and consider what is in the best interest of the nation as a whole," he said.

The initial response on Capitol Hill was restrained, reflecting Gates' credibility among Republicans, the president's popularity and the fact that midterm congressional elections are still 18 months away.

House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., called the Gates plan "a good-faith effort." But he also asserted Congress' authority over how defense money is spent. "The buck stops with Congress," Skelton said in a statement.

Gates said he was concerned about the impact his changes would have on companies and workers but said many of the job cuts would be counterbalanced by increases in other areas.

For example, he noted that even as the number of employees working on the F-22 declined, tens of thousands more workers would be hired to build the F-35, a more affordable and slightly less advanced stealth fighter jet. Gates said he planned to accelerate production of the plane to buy 30 in 2010 up from a planned purchase of 14 this year.