Gates: More Weapons Cuts Possible In FY ’12

By Marina Malenic

Further cuts to major defense acquisition programs are being examined as the Pentagon crafts its fiscal 2012 spending proposal to reflect a slowdown in defense spending, but they will not be the primary focus of the budget knife, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday.

“There are some [programs] that are still being looked at, both by the department and by the services,” Gates told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon. “But the principle areas that we’re looking at are business operations and overhead.”

Earlier this week, Gates said, he met with the department’s senior leadership to develop a plan for trimming waste from the budget.

In a series of recent speeches, Gates has warned that the massive increase in defense spending in the aftermath of the 9/11attacks is coming to a close. The Pentagon’s base budget has more than doubled since 2001.

Gates has indicated that he will continue his push to buy… Want the rest of the story? Subscribe to Defense Daily today and receive all the detailed news and information you need each day. 

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