� Business Monitor International Ltd Page - purchase for --- helicopters for the army (down from ---). The navy has requested two F/A--- Super Hornet fighter jets (later asking for another --) and -- F---C joint strike fighters. ...In November ----, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law, providing a legal framework for the US to expend defence ties with South East Asian countries. The US has also stepped up Freedom of Navigation Operations in the region, with US patrols sailing through what China perceives as sovereign territory in an effort to challenge the latter s sovereignty claims. The government in July ---- announced plans to cut the US army by --,--- active personnel by FY----. --,--- civilian employees are also to be cut from the Department of the Army. In July ----, Obama announced that -,--- US troops would remain in Afghanistan into ----.
...The US Department of Defense (DoD) has struggled with budget restrictions since ----, amid adverse economic conditions. The ---- Budget Control Act introduced defence funding caps, which (although raised twice in ---- and ----) have led to substantial cuts in targets for US defence spending out to FY---- (US fiscal years start October -). ...In February ----, the Obama administration requested USD---.-bn in defence funding under the FY---- budget (excluding veteran benefits and services and some military retirement-related expenditures). This included base funding of USD---.-bn for the DoD (and USD-.-bn in mandatory funding for the DoD); USD--.-bn for overseas contingency operations; USD--.-bn for nuclear energy programmes; and USD-.-bn in non-DoD-related defence spending. The proposed budget, which has yet be approved at the time of writing, was largely in line with the past couple of years and meets the abovementioned spending caps (amended in ----). The various US armed forces branches have subsequently submitted additional funding requests. Congress will resume FY---- budget negotiations following the November ---- presidential election: in September, it approved a temporary measure to keep the DoD and wider government funded from the beginning of the new fiscal year on October -, through to December - ----.
...In February ----, the government requested USD---.-bn in defence funding under the FY---- budget. This included base funding of USD---.-bn for the DoD (and USD-.-bn in mandatory funding for the DoD); USD--.-bn for overseas contingency operations; USD--.-bn for nuclear energy programmes; and USD-.-bn in non-DoD-related defence spending. ...
