{"id":40616,"date":"2015-12-06T19:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T19:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2015\/12\/06\/budget-17-pentagon-planning-cuts-in-production-r-d\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:17:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:17:40","slug":"budget-17-pentagon-planning-cuts-in-production-r-d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2015\/12\/06\/budget-17-pentagon-planning-cuts-in-production-r-d\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget ’17: Pentagon Planning Cuts in Production, R&D"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 As it puts the finishing touches on its fiscal 2017 budget plan, the Pentagon is preparing to slow down programs in production and limiting<\/span> R&D funds in order <\/span>to protect end strength and readiness levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past week, two top Pentagon officials,\u00a0Comptroller Mike McCord and Frank Kendall, undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics,\u00a0made it clear that to make up an expected $15 billion delta between what\u00a0the congressional budget deal gave the department and what the Pentagon planned on having will require targeting the equipment, and not personnel, side of the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Nov. 30, McCord said, “There will probably be some slowdowns in modernization programs,” in the Pentagon’s budget request, noting that he does not see “any major changes to the size of the force” being included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then on Dec. 2, Kendall warned that “the disproportionate hits on ’17 are going to be on modernization. I think that will probably be more on production than R&D.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus on cutting modernization shows that end-strength reductions have hit their limits, said Mark Gunzinger of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years the Pentagon “prioritized modernization over maintaining a larger force in the near\u00a0term,” Gunzinger said. “So, it reduced its end strength, attempted to retire some legacy capabilities such as the A-10, and proposed initiatives to cut its overhead, including a new round of base closures and modest compensation reform.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many of those proposals were killed in Congress, and the services have expressed concern that further end-strength cuts would create too much risk, leaving the Pentagon no alternative but to “begin modest reductions in some modernization programs,” Gunzinger added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mackenzie Eaglen of the American Enterprise Institute said\u00a0believes that <\/span>the reductions may indeed be modest.\u00a0saying<\/span> “Many programs may take a hit, but it will be like in 2013 \u2014 there can still be winners that lose relatively less or only a few production units,” rather than whole programs being gutted, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, she noted, the Pentagon is hoping to save some money through creative accounting, including fuel pricing and optimistic economic assumptions, perhaps getting the total delta down to about $10 billion,\u00a0with anything cut potentially finding its way back to funding via the overseas contingency operations (OCO) fund once Congress gets involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n