Military Spending, DOD Contracts, National Defense $$$$

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How America Spent Over $100 Billion Defending Ukraine | Business Insider Marathon​

Aug 4, 2024 #military #businessinsider #ukraine

America has pledged over $175 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded, which includes over $100 billion in military spending. That includes shells, tanks, rockets, cannons, anti-tank weapons, drones, and missile defense systems worth $1 billion each. So which weapons have proven most critical on the battlefield? And will the latest round of aid really help Ukraine in a war many are calling a stalemate?


30:07

00:00 - $175 Billion So Far
00:48 - Infantry Weapons
02:05 - Body Armor
02:42 - Artillery
08:38 - Tanks
14:11 - Drones
18:54 - Helicopters
19:32 - Jets
20:27 - Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles
21:07 - Multiple Rocket Launchers (ATACMS)
27:54 - Patriot Missile Defense
28:33 - Credits
 

Report to Congress on Hypersonic Weapons​

August 8, 2024 9:12 AM

The following is the Aug. 7, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report​

The United States has actively pursued the development of hypersonic weapons—maneuvering weapons that fly at speeds of at least Mach 5—as a part of its conventional prompt global strike program since the early 2000s. In recent years, the United States has focused such efforts on developing hypersonic glide vehicles, which are launched from a rocket before gliding to a target, and hypersonic cruise missiles, which are powered by high-speed, air-breathing engines during flight. As former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Commander of U.S. Strategic Command General John Hyten has stated, these weapons could enable “responsive, long-range, strike options against distant, defended, and/or time-critical threats [such as road-mobile missiles] when other forces are unavailable, denied access, or not preferred.” Critics, on the other hand, contend that hypersonic weapons lack defined mission requirements, contribute little to U.S. military capability, and are unnecessary for deterrence.

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U.S. Funding $32M Upgrade to Air Base in the Philippines​

Updated: August 10, 2024 5:57 AM

The Pentagon awarded a $32 million contract to upgrade an airfield in the Philippines as part of a broader U.S. program to upgrade and improve Manila’s military bases.

Funded under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a plan to counter China throughout the Indo-Pacific through the construction of infrastructure and investment into regional partners, Basa Air Base is set to receive a 625,000-square-foot parking apron capable of hosting up to 20 aircraft. The contract stated that the project aimed to strengthen the infrastructure at the base, which was deemed to be insufficient for training activities between the U.S. and Philippine forces.

According to the award, Acciona CMS Philippines LLC prevailed over four other proposals for the construction of a parking apron, shoulders, and taxiway at Basa. Funding for the project comes from the Air Force’s fiscal year 2021 and 2024 military construction budgets, coming in at $3.5 million and $29.4 million respectively. The award further added that the airfield upgrade is set to be completed by July 2026.

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Austal to Pay $24M Fine in Deal with DoJ, SEC Over Accounting Fraud Case​

Austal USA will pay out a $24 million fine in a deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice to settle an accounting fraud case, Australian parent company Austal announced Tuesday.

The deal stems from last year’s indictment of three former Austal USA executives for conduct between 2013 and 2016 that resulted in the Mobile, Ala.-based shipyard writing down work in 2016.

On top of the $24 million fine, – which the SEC will allot to shareholders who faced losses during the period – Austal USA has reached a plea deal with the Justice Department over the criminal charges, according to the company statement.

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Report to Congress on FY2025 Budget for Military Health System​

September 2, 2024 10:27 AM

The following is the Aug. 22, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, FY2025 Budget Request for the Military Health System.

From the report​

On March 11, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden submitted his Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request to Congress. Discretionary funding in the Department of Defense (DOD) budget request totals $849.8 billion, including $61.4 billion (7.2%) to fund the Military Health System (MHS), which delivers certain health entitlements under Title 10, Chapter 55, of the U.S. Code, to servicemembers, military retirees, and their families. The MHS provides health care to 9.6 million beneficiaries in DOD hospitals and clinics—known as military treatment facilities (MTFs)—and through civilian health care providers participating in TRICARE, DOD’s health-insurance-like program.

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White House Wants an Extra $2B for FY24 Virginia-class Subs, Attack Boat Pair Could Cost $11.3B​

The White House is asking Congress for $1.95 billion to make up for a price gap for two submarines already funded as part of the congressional Fiscal Year 2024 budget, USNI News has learned.

The request was included in a list of anomalies the White House asked Congress to support in the event the government is funded by a continuing resolution past the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

“Language is needed to appropriate $1.95 billion to the Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy account of the Department of Defense (DOD) for expenses necessary for procurement of two Virginia-class submarines. Without the anomaly, DOD would have insufficient funding to sign contracts for the submarines during the period of the CR,” reads the notification, first reported by Politico.

The Fiscal Year 2024 defense funding bill set aside $7.13 billion for the two Block V Virginia-class boats. Including FY 2023 advanced procurement funds, the total appropriated by Congress for the two attack submarines – SSN-812 and SSN 813 – is $9.4 billion, according to the program summary. The additional add from the White House, if approved by Congress, would bring the total for the two boats to $11.35 billion. One of the two boats is a specialized special operations forces and seabed warfare and was projected to cost much more than a standard Block V Virginia boat, USNI News previously reported.

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Report to Congress on Great Power Competition​

September 5, 2024 6:54 AM

The following is the Aug. 28, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense—Issues for Congress.

From the report​

The emergence over the past decade of intensified U.S. competition with the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) and the Russian Federation (Russia)—often referred to as great power competition (GPC) or strategic competition—has profoundly changed the conversation about U.S. defense issues from what it was during the post–Cold War era: Counterterrorist operations and U.S. military operations in the Middle East—which had been more at the center of discussions of U.S. defense issues following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001—are now a less prominent (but still present) element in the conversation, and the conversation now focuses more on the following elements, all of which relate largely to China and/or Russia:

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