A Retreat in Spending: The U.S. Defense Budget

The christening of the aircraft carrier USS George Bush

From The Washington Post:

As Obama's White House Shifts U.S. Priorities, The Defense Industry Prepares to Retrench.

After the massive buildup in defense spending during the Bush administration, the defense industry is in the line of fire.

President Obama has vowed to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq and has hailed the role of America's "soft power." And a bulging federal deficit will force a tough look at pricey weapons systems such as the F-22 fighter jet and a new Navy destroyer.

"The spigot of defense spending that opened on 9/11 is closing," Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "With two major campaigns ongoing, the economic crisis and resulting budget pressures will force hard choices on this department."

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My Comment: Big ticket items eat up a good chunk of the U.S. defense budget. But trends for the future are different. Unmanned drones in the air. Missile systems with deadly accuracy. Communication and computer networks that can address a threat with overwhelming force in a very short period of time. This is the future .... not massive aircraft carriers and $300 million dollar planes.

The budget is going to change .... but what will be bought with this money is where the big changes are going to occur.