Pentagon Budget gets hacked; Congress to glue it back together?

The proposed Pentagon budget is looking to axe several expensive projects. Of course the expensive ones are the ones that create jobs in Congressional districts, and Congress controls the purse strings.

Draft budget documents obtained by Reuters show the Pentagon will again propose halting Boeing Co's C-17 transport plane and a second engine for Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet -- two programs on its kill list last year that were revived by lawmakers during the budget process.

This year, the Pentagon is also targeting the costly development of a new Navy cruiser and a replacement for the Navy's aging EP-3 intelligence aircraft. The Pentagon says it will use enhanced Navy destroyers to fill any resulting capability gap from losing the new cruiser.

The Pentagon plan also would scrap work on an advanced infrared missile warning sensor program for which Science Applications International Corp and Raytheon Co have been competing, and end a Pentagon human resources system by Northrop Grumman Corp. One document said $500 million had been spent on the Northrop program over 10 years with "little to show and limited prospects."

By: Brant