The House Appropriations Defense subcommittee budget proposal released Tuesday allocates $8.7 billion for 12 additional purchases of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighters while also including the Pentagon’s request for new Boeing F-15X Eagle fighters, according to a Bloomberg Government report.
The House bill funds 90 fifth-generation F-35s and eight fourth-generation F-15Xs.
DOD’s fiscal 2020 budget request in March called for 78 F-35s and eight F-15Xs, which raised concerns in Congress over Pentagon competition between the two aircraft.
Lawmakers in both parties have said the number of F-35s needs to be higher and that the U.S. should fully commit to the newer fighters.
The advanced F-35 is the most expensive Pentagon weapons program and includes the support of powerful lawmakers who will determine their numbers in the fiscal 2020 defense budget.
“We need more F-35s. I’m on that side,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).
Air Force by Staff Sgt. Peter Thompson
Legislative Proposal Would Allow Army to Move Ahead on Backlogged Demolitions
The Army has proposed legislation that would allow it to lay out demolition and consolidation ideas for five locations over the next three years, Federal News Network recently reported. It has asked to spend up to $25 million at each site but did not name the sites....
