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The White House has requested a whopping $842 billion for the Pentagon for fiscal year 2024, which is $69 billion more than the Department of Defense received for FY2023. What's behind the hike and does it truly correspond with the US' national security interests?
"The new US defense budget of $840 billion for the coming year, an increase of 3.2% over the last, includes two major figures," retired Major General Harsha Kakar, strategic analyst and founding member of the think tank STRIVE, told Sputnik. "One is $9.1 billion for basically the Indo-Pacific region. The other - for updating its nuclear arsenal, for which it has earmarked $37 billion or $38 billion. And, of course, $6 billion [is allocated] for assistance to Ukraine."
"Now, when you look at this figure, an increase of $9 billion, basically for increasing its capability in the Indo-Pacific, will possibly just about strengthen the US presence in the region. It's not going to shift any major balance of power, unless its allies, mainly in the Quad, contribute in a similar manner to the effect that the US is putting in, in terms of spending for that region," the Indian expert continued.
On March 9, the Biden administration unveiled its budgetary roadmap, with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin lauding the White House's move as enabling the Department of Defense "to continue building a Joint Force that is the most lethal, resilient, survivable, agile, and responsive in the world and is guided by our three priorities of defending the nation, taking care of our people, and succeeding through teamwork."
However, US observers immediately drew attention to the gargantuan size of the Pentagon's new budget. While the DoD's request amounts to $842 billion, the White House is requesting $886.4 billion in funding for national security. But that is not all, DC think tanks warn: if one adds emergency military aid packages for Ukraine this year and potential tens of billions of dollars in Congressional "add-ons" the total defense spending is about to reach a staggering $950 billion or more for FY2024. The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a US think tank, has called the forthcoming Pentagon budget the "biggest since World War II,"and far bigger than at the peaks of the Korean, Vietnam, or Cold Wars.
The vast geography of Washington's defense plans could be explained by its belief that apart from protecting itself and its allies it should also ensure its military dominance in the respective regions, the Indian expert noted. Since the US sees a number of countries as its competitors, it seeks to suppress them militarily, according to Kakar. "So therefore, it is going to continue expanding far more than what is required," he noted.
Big Spending Doesn't Always Mean Good Quality
Still, the Pentagon's bloated spending does not always mean that the US military gets the highest quality for their money, according to Sputnik's interlocutors.
"Addressing the egregious issues present in the US Air Force, the US Navy, and the US Strategic Nuclear Forces, the so-called nuclear doctrine, there are no such big developments because the United States, having the largest number of military bases and being involved in various conflicts, has actually, let's say, brought its weapons fleet to a state close to satisfactory. Although in fact, some estimate a much more radical, worse state," said Alexey Leonkov, military expert and an editor at the magazine Arsenal Otechestva.
"At the same time, these are military developments that have been carried out as scientific research programs, the delivery of new types of weapons, and they often lag behind all the scientific and technological progress that has been developed, for example, in Russia, in China, and even in Iran and North Korea. Getting carried away with some innovative programs, the US, or rather the military budget, does not take into account the current cost of keeping the American Army 100% combat ready," he continued.
According to some estimates, more than half of the new DoD budget will go to major defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman, on buying, researching, and developing weapons. However, the observers refer to an embarrassing record of overspending and alleged mismanagement of funds when it comes to the US military-industrial complex.
One glaring example is the F-35 fighter that has already become the costliest weapon system in American history. The F-35's estimated sustainment costs over its 66-year anticipated life cycle have steadily increased since 2012, from $1.11 trillion to $1.27 trillion, despite purported efforts to reduce costs. Although the project was launched over 20 years ago and 800 airplanes have already been delivered, the stealth fighter jet's production has been "marred by excessive defects and rework" that have reduced US military readiness, as per the US press.
Military Lobbyists and Apparent Corruption
Leonkov noted that the US lobby culture plays a big role in the distribution of military funds, while Joe Biden and his administration are accepting this state of affairs and even playing into the lobbyists' hands.
"Lobbyist structures create such a paradox that despite the fact that the US military budget is the largest in the world and unprecedented for the United States itself, its effectiveness is much lower than the military budgets of Russia and China, the DPRK and Iran," Leonkov said.
For instance, the US military industrial complex has yet to come up with competitive domestically-made hypersonic weapons, lagging behind both Russia and China.
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