The Senate Armed Services Committee wants to see the Army acquire a short-term capability to meet immediate cruise missile defense needs and is calling for boosts in funding for the next generation combat vehicle and extended range cannon artillery programs, according to the summary of its defense spending bill markup.
SASC passed its markup of the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday and included a $70 million increase in next-gen combat vehicle funding over the White House’s original request, and $20 million more for the extended range cannon artillery gun effort.
The committee’s mark authorizes $190 million to prototype the Army’s next-gen combat vehicle, with the increase covering a need to meet the “combat power of close combat maneuver forces against peer competitors.”
Army officials have previously said they plan to start develop a pair of manned and unmanned next-gen vehicles in 2019 (Defense Daily, March 30).
Committee members also increased funding for the extended range cannon artillery up to $123 million to boost the range and lethality of field artillery.
SASC members also included $529 million for 46 Paladin Integrated Management sets, which is $110 million and 10 sets more than the previous administration budget request.
The mark also includes a directive for Army officials to work on acquiring interm short-term cruise missile defense tools to fill current capability gaps, with the goal of deterring future aggression from China and Russia.
Lawmakers cited the need for a capability to “defend against Chinese and Russian threats, in anticipation of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability.”
SASC’s version of the NDAA would fully fund $319 million for the Army’s Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle program, $610 million for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, $1.1 billion for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Program and $1.53 billion to procure 135 M1A2SEP v3 Abrams tanks.
The committee markup of the spending bill now moves to the Senate floor for a full vote.