The House Armed Service Committee’s defense authorization bill would give the military much of the funding it sought, including additional aircraft, vehicles and weapons beyond what was requested in the president’s fiscal year 2016 budget, but once again restores funding for the A-10 Warthog airplane the Air Force seeks to retire, according to HASC chairman Mac Thornberry’s (R-Texas) mark of the legislation released April 27.

The committee’s National Defense Authorization Act proposal shifts $38.3 billion in operations and maintenance funding from the base budget to Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) accounts, a move that makes base spending conform with Budget Control Act limits while also allotting the military the money it requested for fiscal year 2016. As it currently stands, the NDAA funds a $515 billion base budget and increases wartime spending to $89.2 billion. Airlift operations, combat support forces, combat communication, training support and equipment maintenance are some of the O&M expenses to be paid for with OCO money, according to the bill summary.A-10, 1975. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Despite Air Force leaders’ pleas to retire the A-10 to help free up funding for other programs, Thornberry’s National Defense Authorization Act proposal recommends appropriating $682.7 million to keep the aircraft flying in fiscal year 2016, including $240 million to procure new wings for the Vietnam War-era plane.

With that funding in place, Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz) plans to offer an amendment prohibiting the Air Force from divesting its Warthog fleet, she said in a statement.

The proposed NDAA sets aside money for several of the services’ unfunded priorities, including $1.15 billion for 12 F/A-18 Super Hornets, which will extend Boeing’s [BA] Super Hornet and E/A-18 Growler production line in St. Louis, Mo. It also recommends appropriating $1 billion for six Marine Corps F-35Bs and $168.5 million for Javelin missiles.

For the Army, the legislation authorizes $72 million for additional M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicles  and $79.5 million to increase the lethality of the Stryker. It also recommends $40 million more for Abrams tank modernization.

The mark adds $73 million for additional C-130Js for the Air Force.

For the Navy, the proposal recommends $120 million to modernize the Aegis weapon system on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and $28 million for Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block II systems. It also adds $30 million to sustain the Tomahawk missile production line.

A total $279 million would go toward accelerating the LX(R) program so that construction of the new amphibious ship can begin in 2018, not 2020 as currently planned by the Navy.

The NDAA cuts from several high profile programs. Most prominently, it pares back spending on the Air Force’s long range strike bomber by $460 million, as delays in awarding a contract to either Northrop Grumman [NCO] or the Boeing-Lockheed Martin [LMT] team competing to build the aircraft have reduced the amount of money the Air Force can feasibly spend on the program in that fiscal year. Thornberry also directs the Government Accountability Office to assess LRSM’s technology challenges and cost.

Similarly, the proposal strikes $224 million from KC-46A tanker procurement and development because of delays in the Air Force program.

The proposal cuts all funding requested for the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, but adds in $184.4 million to develop a replacement for the Russian-made RD-180 propulsion system.

Thornberry’s proposed NDAA also includes a number of items from his acquisition reform bill. The proposal would require the Pentagon to establish a central office to make commercial item determinations. It also calls for the Army and Air Force chiefs of staff, Chief of Naval Operations and Marine Corps Commandant to develop recommendations to strengthen their role in the acquisition process.

Another thrust of the legislation’s acquisition reform items is to reduce the paperwork burden on program managers. It would consolidate six current reporting requirements into one acquisition strategy that would be mandated for every major defense program. The undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics would be responsible for devising the requirements for strategy content, review and approval.

The NDAA would also eliminate over 460 congressionally-mandated reports over six years, according to the bill summary.  

The full committee will debate the bill on April 27, in a markup that is expected to run from 10 a.m. until late in the night.