US President Bush says the 2003 budget request to be presented to US Congress this week will seek an additional $48 billion in defence spending, a 14% jump over 2002 and the biggest increase in 20 years. Bush says the increase will be used to invest in more precision weapons, missile defence and unmanned vehicles. Congress has been pushing for a $50 billion increase. Meanwhile, the 2002 Russian budget will include 6 billion roubles ($196 million) for civil aviation programmes, according to the Rosaviacosmos state aviation agency. Development and manufacturing programmes will gain 2.65 billion roubles this year, rising to three billion if various related programmes are taken into account.
Source: Flight International