Fiscal Year 1998 Military Budget at a Glance
January 1, 1998
For more information contact: Christopher Hellman, chellman@armscontrolcenter.org
February 1997
| Military budget request for FY 1998 (Budget Authority) | $265.3 billion $ 3.0 billion increase from fiscal 1997 |
| Projected military spending for FY 1998 (Outlays) | $259.4 billion $ 7.8 billion decrease from fiscal 1997 |
(N.B. Above figures called "National Defense" or "050" in the federal budget; they include Pentagon budget plus the intelligence budget, Department of Energy military programs and a few smaller programs.)
SIX HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW BUDGET REQUEST
1. Shortly before the budget's completion, the Administration added $7 bllion to the Pentagon's 5-year buget and allowed the Pentagon to keep $4 billion in inflation savings. The total fiscal 1998 holiday bonus for the Pentagon was $2.8 billion, including $2.6 billion in new funding.
This is a consistent pattern on holiday bonuses for the Pentagon:
- Last year, the Pentagon was permitted $30.5 billion in new purchasing power over six years -- courtesy of lower-than-expected inflation rates.
- In December 1994, President Clinton added $25 billion over six years to the Pentagon budget to fund readiness increases, military pay raises and quality of life improvements.
- In December 1993, the President added $11.4 billion to the military budget over 5 years to cover pay raises.
2. The Congress can be expected to one-up the President by adding even more money. It added $17.4 billion to the military budget the last two years, including $10.4 billion in fiscal 1997 and $7.0 billion in fiscal 1996.
3. The Pentagon will seek a $2.0 billion supplemental for fiscal 1997; most of the funds are for Bosnia, and some for operations around Iraq. It is also seeking to rescind or cancel $4.8 billion in previously appropriated funds, $2 billion of which is to pay for Bosnia.
4. The Pentagon is requesting $3.5 billion for Star Wars in fiscal 1998. The United States will spend an estimated $34 billion on its nuclear force in 1997, including about $12 billion for building and operating nuclear weapons systems, $5 billion for communications, $3.5 billion for ballistic missile research, and $12 billion in Department of Energy spending for stockpile stewardship, nuclear waste, environmental clean-up and other programs.
5. Current Pentagon plans call for spending $450 billion or more for five new aircraft programs: Joint Strike Fighter ($219 billion), F-18 E/F ($81 billion), F-22 ($70 billion), V-22 ($47 billion), Comanche helicopter ($33 billion). The Pentagon has requested $7 billion for the five programs in fiscal 1998.
6. Procurement will continue to be controversial. The Pentagon is requesting $42.6 billion for procurement in fiscal 1998, but still hopes to get to $60 billion by fiscal 2001. Many Republicans will try to add procurement funds for favored projects.
1.STRATEGIC NUCLEAR PROGRAM REQUESTS IN FY 1998 BUDGET
| B-2 bomber: | $624.8 million | (to continue work on first 21 planes, made in California, Washington and Ohio) |
| Trident II (D-5 missile): | $368.0 million | (7 new missiles, made in California) |
| Ballistic Missile Defense: | $3.5 billion | |
| $505 million | National Missile Defense | |
| $555 million | Patriot PAC3 | |
| $561 million | THAAD | |
| $283 million | Navy Area Theater |
2.MAJOR CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS REQUESTS
(in millions of dollars)
| FY 1997 | FY 1998 | WEAPONS PROGRAMS | (state of prime contractors in parentheses) |
| $2,518.0 | $2,528.9 | Navy F/A-18 E/F Hornet upgraded aircraft - 20 planes | (made in MA, MO & CA) |
| $1,341.6 | $1,100.0 | V-22 Osprey - 5 planes | (made in TX, PA and IN) |
| $1,899.8 | $2,152.1 | F-22 Air Force advanced tactical fighter | (made in GA, TX, WA and FL) |
| $1,242.4 | $2,996.3 | New attack submarine | (made in CT and VA) |
| $683.7 | $676.7 | Milstar communication satellite | (made in CA) |
| $331.4 | $282.0 | RAH-66 Army Comanche light helicopter | (made in CT, PA, AZ, IN) |
| $426.3 | $525.2 | AH-64 Longbow Apache helicopter | (made in MD and FL) |
| $571.0 | $930.9 | Joint Strike Fighter | (JSF) |
| $2,269.7 | $2,413.6 | Air force C-17 airlift aircraft - 9 planes | (made in CA and CT) |
| $3,696.3 | $2,972.9 | Navy DDG-51 AEGIS destroyer - 3 destroyers | (made in ME and MS) |
| $770.7 | $508.9 | E-8C joint stars airborne radar system - 1 plane | (made in FL) |
| $764.1 | $233.7 | Seawolf attack submarine | (to complete third submarine, made in CT) |
| $442.8 | $307.5 | Air Force F-15E Eagle - 3 aircraft | (made in MO and CT) |
| $281.0 | $100.2 | Air Force F-16 Falcon - 0 aircraft | (made in TX, CT and OH) |
[Source for item 2: Program Acquisition Costs by Weapons System, Department of Defense Budget for Fiscal Year 1998, February 1997]
3.MOST EXPENSIVE WEAPONS SYSTEMS - TOTAL PROGRAM COSTS
$219.0 billion - Navy-Air Force Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - 3,000 planes
$ 81.0 billion - Navy F/A-18 E/F Hornet - 1,000 planes
$ 70.1 billion - F-22 Air Force advanced tactical fighter - 442 planes
$ 64.9 billion - Navy New Attack Submarine - 30 submarines
$ 60.0 billion - 1996 Dole-Gingrich National Missile Defense deployment plan
$ 57.1 billion - Navy DDG-51 AEGIS destroyer - 57 ships
$ 46.6 billion - Navy V-22 Osprey - 523 planes
$ 44.4 billion - Air Force B-2 bomber - 20 planes
$ 41.7 billion - Air force C-17 airlift aircraft (estimate) - 120 planes
$ 33.0 billion - Army Comanche helicopter - 1,292 helicopters
$ 27.7 billion - Navy Trident II (D-5 missile) - 462 missiles
$ 6.5 billion - CVN-77 nuclear aircraft carrier - 1 ship
[Source for most weapons in item 3: Selected Acquisition Reports, June 30, 1996; JSF, National Missile Defense and Comanche cost estimates from CBO]
4.DOD ACTIVE DUTY, RESERVE AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL IN FISCAL 1998
1,431,000 - active military personnel
892,000 - selected reserve
772,000 - Defense Department civilians
3,095,000 - TOTAL MILITARY, RESERVE AND CIVILIANS IN FY 1998
5.FORCE LEVELS IN FY 1998 BUDGET
10 active Army divisions (down from 18 in 1990)
42 Army Reserve component brigades (down from 57 in 1990)
3 active & 1 Reserve Marine Corps divisions (no reductions)
11 deployed aircraft carriers & 1 trainer/reserve (down from 15 and 1 in 1990)
346 battle force ships (down from 546 in 1990)
10 active and 1 reserve Navy carrier air wings (down from 13 and 2 in 1990)
3 active and 1 reserve Marine Corps air wings
13 active and 7 reserve Air Force fighter wings (down from 24 and 12 in 1990)
6.FUTURE YEAR MILITARY BUDGET AUTHORITY | 7.FUTURE YEAR MILITARYOUTLAYS | ||
| FY 1997 | 262.3 billion | FY 1997 | 267.2 billion |
| FY 1998 | 265.3 billion | FY 1998 | 259.4 billion |
| FY 1999 | 269.2 billion | FY 1999 | 261.4 billion |
| FY 2000 | 275.0 billion | FY 2000 | 267.2 billion |
| FY 2001 | 281.5 billion | FY 2001 | 268.0 billion |
| FY 2002 | 289.1 billion | FY 2002 | 273.2 billion |
| 5 year total B.A. from FY 1998-2002 = | $1.4 trillion | 5-year total outlays from FY 1998-2002 = | $1.3 trillion |
8.PRIMARY CATEGORIES OF FUNCTION 050 (NATIONAL DEFENSE) OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET
FY 1998 budget authority
$250.7 billion - Pentagon
14.6 billion - Department of Energy nuclear weapons activities and other
$265.3 billion
FY 1998 outlays
$247.5 billion - Pentagon
11.9 billion - Department of Energy nuclear weapons activities and other
$259.4 billion
9.OTHER PROGRAMS OF INTEREST IN FISCAL 1998
$382.2 million - "Nunn-Lugar" program to assist the former Soviet Union to dismantle nuclear weapons
$1.2 billion - Pentagon environmental restoration work
Glossary
BA - Budget Authority: represents the total amount that Congress makes available to an agency through authorizations and appropriations in a Fiscal Year
Outlays - Amount an agency actually spends, money that has been approved in the current fiscal year or in prior fiscal years
DOD - Department of Defense
DOE - Department of Energy
FY - Fiscal Year, from October 1 through September 30
Real increase - Total increase adjusted for inflation