WASHINGTON -- The House version of the FY22 defense appropriations bill provides $706.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Defense, which is $258.2 million less than the requested amount. A tradeoff is made in the acquisition accounts, with a $1.7 billion increase for procurement being partially offset by a $1.6 billion cut for RDT&E. The bill also adds $696.2 million for operation & maintenance, while cutting $479 million for personnel.
The procurement plus-up primarily favors aircraft for all three services, as well as the Navy's shipbuilding account. Overall, the Air Force gains $653.7 million for procurement, the Navy gains $193.9 million, and the Army receives a small $34.2 million boost. In traditional fashion, the bill adds $950 million for National Guard and Reserve equipment.
The bill adds nine HH-60M helicopters for the Army National Guard, as well as five CH-47F Block II helicopters. The Army hasn't funded the Block II upgrade for active duty CH-47F in its last two budget requests. The committee wishes to extend Super Hornet production for the Navy, and the bill adds 12 F/A-18E/Fs. The legislation also adds two CH-53K helicopters and two MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles for the Marine Corps, as well as one MQ-4C for the Navy. Funding for Navy aircraft modifications is also increased by $321.3 million. Major aircraft additions for the Air Force are four C-130Js for the Reserve and four MQ-9 Reapers. The bill also adds $282 million for Air Force aircraft modifications. The legislation doesn't include any additional F-35 aircraft.
The committee adds $1.5 billion for a second DDG 51 class destroyer that was removed from the Navy's budget request. However the bill eliminates one of two Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ships (T-ATS), reflecting a cut of $97 million.
Army gains seven Paladins and $100 million for HMMWVs for the National Guard, but loses $41.7 million for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle and $49 million for Stryker upgrades. The bill also cuts $215.5 million for the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), citing the funding as ahead of need.
The Navy once again didn't request any Tomahawk cruise missiles in FY22, but the bill adds 10 Tomahawks. However, the legislation cuts all 25 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM), as well as some funding for the SM-6, Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), and the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM). Lawmakers recommend cutting $44 million for initial production of hypersonic Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapons (ARRW) due to the risk of concurrency at this stage in the program. This reduction reflects a cut of four missiles.
Within the RDT&E account, legislation cuts $1.9 billion for the Navy but nearly $1 billion of that cut reflects funding for the Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) software development program that was transferred outside of the RDT&E account. The service loses $42 million for Large Unmanned Surface Vehicles and $87.3 million for unmanned surface vehicle enabling capabilities, as well as $74.6 million for DDG(X) development. The service requested $5.2 million in development funding for the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N), which is zeroed out in the House markup. Navy budget guidance for the future FY23 request has already hinted at scrapping the SLCM-N program. The bill also cuts $97 million for the hypersonic Conventional Prompt Strike program, which is being developed in coordination with the Army. Air Force funding is reduced by $614 million. Notable cuts in the service's research and development account include $28 million for the Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) weapon, $35.8 million for the HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter, $61.6 million for the VC-25B due to program delays, and $55 million for the B-52 engine replacement effort due to a contract delay. However, the service gains $55 million for materials applied research, $112.9 million for manufacturing technology, and $57 million for the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP). The Army receives a $581.8 million boost in the House markup. The plus-up includes, but is not limited to, $169.5 million for ground technology programs, $113.1 million for Next Generation Combat Vehicle development, $25 million for the extended-range hypervelocity projectile, $25 million for the Indirect Fire Protection Capability High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL), and $65 million for the Abrams tank.
An extra $381.6 million is also provided for Defense-Wide agencies. The bill adds $75 million for the Homeland Defense Radar - Hawaii (HDR-H), for which the Pentagon has not requested funding in its past two budgets. The stability and security of the microelectronics supply chain has become a critical issue for the DoD, so it comes as no surprise that the House bill adds $86.5 million for trusted and assured microelectronics.
Complete details of the House Appropriations Committee's markup of the FY22 defense spending bill can be viewed on Forecast International's U.S. Defense Budget Forecast. Product information is available using the link below.
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