Obama proposes slight increase in defence spending

Feb 27, 2009, 1:39 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama proposed Thursday a slight increase in the defence budget for the 2010 fiscal year even as he warned of possible cuts in big-dollar weapons systems.

Obama's plans to spend 533.7 billion dollars for the Defence Department, an increase of 4 per cent from last year, plus an additional 130 billion dollars for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another 75.5 billion dollars is budgeted for the wars in the 2009 fiscal year that ends September 30.

In an address to Congress on Tuesday, Obama said he will look to cut spending on large and expensive weapons systems from the Cold War era that have little application to today's conflicts.

Obama's statement has prompted speculation within the lucrative defence sector about which weapons systems might get the axe. Focus has centred on the Air Force's F-22 Raptor, which comes at a price tag of 140 million dollars each.

The Pentagon could instead buy more of the much cheaper F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. The F-22 was envisioned during the Cold War and first came into service in 2005.

More than 100 of the 183 F-22s planned for purchase have been delivered, and the Obama administration has until this spring to determine whether the Air Force should order more of the Lockheed Martin-built jets or stop production.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has differed with the Air Force by saying he believes the number of planned F-22s is sufficient. The vastly sophisticated F-22 features air superiority and radar evading stealth technology.

The plane's critics argue that there is no need for such an expensive fighter because the United States is involved in hostilities against terrorists and militants in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But any cuts to the F-22 could draw Obama into a fight with congressional lawmakers, who argue that stopping production would cost thousands of jobs at a time when the economic turmoil has sent millions of people to unemployment lines.