Budget

Global spending on unmanned aerial vehicles is poised for a major expansion in the coming decade as militaries invest about $98 billion in new intelligence gathering and strike capabilities, experts say.

The Teal Group, an aerospace and defense industry market analysis firm, expects worldwide research-and-development and procurement spending on drones to rise from a projected $11.1 billion in 2020 to $14.3 billion by 2029 — nearly a 30 percent increase. R&D spending is forecasted to grow from $3.2 billion in 2020 to $4 billion in 2029, and procurement funding is projected to ramp up from $7.9 billion in 2020 to about $10.3 billion by the end of the decade.

“UAVs remains one of the most dynamic sectors” in the defense market, said senior analyst Steve Zaloga, co-author of the Teal Group’s recently released … (read more)

The Army’s fiscal year 2020 budget request will reflect its intent to reduce, eliminate or delay programs in favor of its top modernization priorities, according to the service’s top civilian leader.

In the 2020 budget blueprint — which is expected to be released mid-March — the service shifted “the dollars dramatically into the future next-generation projects defined by our cross-functional teams,” Army Secretary Mark Esper said Feb. 8 during a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

These priorities fall under the Army’s new Futures Command that was first announced in October 2017. They include: long-range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicle, future vertical lift, the network, air-and-missile defense and … (read more)