Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet to the mighty defence lobby. His spending proposals for the fiscal year 2010 budget outlined on 6 April - "Bloody Monday" as one pithy lawmaker put it - challenge the collective sacred cows of the so-called military-industrial complex. From airpower to shipbuilding to ground vehicles, Gates is calling for not just change, but structural reform.
It is not the first time the US Department of Defense's top civilian leader has attacked the entrenched interests of the weapons business. The golden triangle of military, industrial and legislative allies that so often protects outdated, dysfunctional or redundant weapons programmes is a reliably formidable opponent.
Gates might learn as much from the experience of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld. In late 2004, Rumsfeld stunned the defence industry with a $30 billion package of spending cuts targeting such high-profile systems as the Lockheed Martin F-22, C-130J, Joint Common Missile, Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser-Extended Range and the Northrop Grumman E-10A.
Rumsfeld's proposals were colossal failures. C-130J funding was restored by Congress within weeks. The F-22 funding cut was initially upheld, but production was extended to 2009 to allow the next - and, possibly, more friendly - administration to make the final decision. (It seems from Gates's new proposals that Lockheed's strategists on Capitol Hill were disappointed.)
But their fate may not be revisited upon Gates. In politics, personality means something. Gates is a holdover from a Republican administration. He is widely credited as a strategic - yet pragmatic - thinker.
While Rumsfeld sprung his ideas on an unsuspecting Pentagon, Gates formed his strategy while diligently consulting the heads of every major service and combatant command. Each proposal has been telegraphed in speeches delivered over the past 18 months, bestowing at least the credibility of consistent thought.
This budget may defy most political interests, but its success will depend on how shrewdly Gates works the political process. There are two wars to manage and a wide range of security threats to monitor. But Gates must invest an enormous amount of energy and time into seeing his package of reforms through to fruition.
Gates may have picked his moment perfectly. Wider economic and fiscal issues could restrain lawmakers from thwarting Gates' proposals through earmarks, a tactic used without restraint over the past decade.
Source: Flight International
