{"id":36605,"date":"2021-05-13T22:06:57","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T22:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/13\/can-the-army-protect-essential-but-unloved-programs-in-future-budgets\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:59:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:59:00","slug":"can-the-army-protect-essential-but-unloved-programs-in-future-budgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/05\/13\/can-the-army-protect-essential-but-unloved-programs-in-future-budgets\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the Army protect essential but \u2018unloved\u2019 programs in future budgets?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Army leaders are growing concerned the service won\u2019t be able to continue to protect its priority programs<\/a> and key enabling capabilities in the upcoming budget, especially as military officials and national security observers expect the Army\u2019s overall budget could shrink in fiscal 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some programs considered critical to the future are already \u201con the edge of viability,\u201d Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette, the Army G-8 who is in charge of equipping, said May 13 at the McAleese and Associates conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army has wrapped its arms tightly around a set of 35 priority modernization programs <\/a>to include efforts in Long Range Precision Fires, Next-Generation Combat Vehicles, the network and Future Vertical Lift while at the same time bracing for future budget cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it has identified another 30 systems, not among the top priority programs, but those that are considered key enablers because without them the top modernization programs won\u2019t reach their full potential, Pasquarette explained. He said the service has roughly $24 billion invested in key enablers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example is the Q-53 radar, which is needed in order for the Army\u2019s future Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) system to see out to targets at its 70 kilometer range. Without a capable radar, the ERCA would not reach its full potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Army Futures Command Commander Gen. Mike Murray said at the same conference May 12 that upcoming budgets may cause the Army to make hard choices about those sacred programs and that they are \u201calmost impossible choices to make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pasquarette said that of the roughly $35 billion inside the equipping portfolio he manages, 47 percent of the funding is allocated to advance the top 35 modernization priorities plus the 30 other key enablers. The other 53 percent is everything else, which covers roughly 500 other programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the next five years, the priority programs will be funded closer to 50 percent, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are scheduled to deliver the 31 plus four next-generation capabilities on a schedule that\u2019s aggressive, but necessary, given what our adversaries are doing in trying to keep pace with us. We have to have these on schedule,\u201d Pasquarette said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now they are resourced to deliver,\u201d he added. \u201cI think [if] we start to accept some risks, we won\u2019t be comfortable with the key enablers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other 500 or so programs not considered a priority have been reduced to a point where further cuts \u201care very concerning,\u201d Pasquarette said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t