Future DoD budgets may hit FFG-X

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Defense Department is banking on billions in savings through operational efficiencies to sustain and modernize between FYs-19/23, but if those efficiencies aren’t realized, the Pentagon may have to cut major programs to make up the difference, according to defense expert Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. During those fiscal years, DoD anticipates to “save” roughly $46B from cutting waste across the board. But if it’s not happening, the department will be faced with little wiggle room. The current DoD budget is not even close to accomplishing those savings, yet Harrison said future budget projections rely on them. If those “savings” aren’t realized, DoD will have to risk asking Congress for more money or “cut meat instead of fat,” he said. Most of the Navy’s big programs - F-35C stealth jet, Ford-class carrier, and Columbia-class submarine - will likely avoid those major cuts. But the Navy may have to scrap the next-generation frigate (FFG(X) or slow the pace on the Virginia-class submarine. In FY-20, DoD estimates an $84B budget increase, Harrison said, and $87B for FY-21. But Congress will need to work out a deal to increase the Budget Control Act of 2011 spending caps to provide for those increases, he said. “I think it’s going to be a long, hard drawn-out fight,” he said. (Source: USNI News 09/20/18)