Seeking to strike a balance between current operations, fiscal uncertainty and next-generation weapons and systems, the Defense Department is aiming for a “healthy” science and technology program in its fiscal 2017 budget to develop future technologies.
Pentagon officials are routing $12.5 billion to science and technology investments, part of a broader $72 billion research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) portfolio; the RDT&E request is nearly $3 billion more than the amount enacted in fiscal 2016.
According to the budget documents released Feb. 9, key RDT&E initiatives center on space and space-based systems, missile defense programs, cyber operations, and science and technology.
Command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems are set for a $7.4 billion investment, an uptick from last year’s $7.1 billion. Missile defense programs slipped by some $600 million to $8.5 billion, and despite Pentagon officials’ verbal emphasis on science and technology, those accounts across the board went down, from $13 billion to $12.5 billion.
“The Department’s S&T program’s mission is to invest in and develop capabilities that advance the technical superiority of the U.S. military to counter new and emerging threats. The overall 2017 base budget S&T funding request for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Defense Agencies is approximately $12.5 billion, which is 2.4 percent of the Department’s $523.9 billion base budget,” the documents note. “The 2017 request is slightly lower than the 2016 enacted level of $13 billion for continued S&T focus on the rebalance of forces from Iraq and Afghanistan to the Asia Pacific region, and towards promising technologies to counter other nations’ development of anti-access/area-denial capabilities.”
Space programs would receive about $7 billion to fund a range of platforms and systems, including the GPS III satellite and research into an alternative architecture for satellite communications (SATCOM) and Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR).
“The 2017 budget request also sustains the existing SATCOM and OPIR systems through the transition,” the documents state. “The budget allows the United States to maintain supremacy in space and provides communications, navigation, missile warning, space situational awareness and environmental monitoring capabilities.”
The Missile Defense Agency receives the lion’s share of missile-related funding with a $7.5 billion budget, in which key programs include increasing to 44 the number of ground-based interceptors, funding for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) concept development and U.S. contributions to the Iron Dome.
Cyber funding is a bright spot in the proposed budget, jumping by nearly $1 billion over last year’s levels. Overarching targets for cyber investments include activities that:
Organize the 133 team Cyber Mission Force, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of fiscal 2018.
Outfit the new Joint Operations Center for U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Maryland; occupancy is scheduled for 2018.
Support cyberspace operational Science and Technology programs and other research and technology projects to develop the tools required by the Cyber Mission Force to accomplish its mission.
Develop innovative approaches to provide a virtual environment for the Cyber Mission Force to consistently train and mission rehearse across a wide range of threat environments.
Support defensive cyberspace operations by providing information assurance and cyber security to the Department’s networks at all levels, and via ongoing investments in the Department’s larger Information Technology budget to implement Joint Regional Security Stacks across the DoD enterprise.
Support combatant commanders and offensive cyber operations by providing integrated cyber capabilities to support military operations and contingencies.
Both S&T and RDT&E areas are part of DoD’s $112 billion procurement portfolio.