House lawmakers want the Navy to accelerate concept development of unmanned aircraft that can be launched from tactical fighters, setting aside an additional $10 million for the service to pursue those efforts.
Legislation approving the funds were included in a raft of amendments folded into the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal year 2012 defense spending bill, approved last week. Panel Chairman Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) introduced the amendment as part of the committee’s Seapower and Expeditionary Forces subpanel mark-up on May 11.
The increase, drawn from the Defense Department’s Mission Force Enhancement Transfer Fund, will be tacked on top of the Obama administration’s initial $9.4 million request for tactical unmanned aircraft in FY ’12. The inclusion of the McKeon legislation bumps that total up to $19.4 million.
The legislation contained little detail as to what the money would be spent on, or what initiatives the Navy is currently pursuing, in terms of fighter-launched unmanned aircraft.
Coupled with that increase, House lawmakers also opted to plus up the Navy’s budget for airborne reconnaissance systems, adding on another $3 million to the White House’s original request of $106 million. Both funding increases will be directed into the sea service’s development, test and evaluation coffers.