The US Department of Defense has planned to seek a huge budget to replenish the arms and munitions the Pentagon sent to Ukraine, where Moscow says it’s fighting a proxy war against Russia.
The Pentagon seeks more than $300 billion from the US government for weapons procurement and R & D (research and development) in the upcoming 2024 fiscal year, Bloomberg reported on Saturday citing confidential documents.
The requested budget will reportedly be allocated to replacing arms and munitions sent to the Kiev forces to fight Russia, as well as to enhance the ability of the American force to fight China.
According to an internal budget document reviewed by Bloomberg, to purchase new arms the Pentagon is requesting $76.8 billion for the Navy and Marines, $61 billion for the Air and Space Force, $15.7 billion for the Army, and $16.5 billion for other US military forces, in total $170 billion.
The Pentagon also requested $400 million to acquire a new version of the Stinger air defense system, $199 million to purchase 541 Javelin anti-armor missiles, and $179 million to procure 28 additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Bloomberg reported.
In addition, the Pentagon also reportedly requested $145 billion for research and development projects. This includes $46 billion that would be earmarked for the Air Force, $27 billion for the Navy and $15.7 billion for the Army. The documents are scheduled to be released on Monday, according to Bloomberg.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden unveiled the 2024 fiscal year starting in October, allocating one-fourth to the Pentagon.
The proposed budget shows an increase in military spending to a record $842 billion.
In the meantime, Russia has repeatedly warned Ukraine’s weapons suppliers that arming Kiev would only delay the restoration of peace in the region while turning those providing weapons providers to Kiev complicit in the Ukraine war.
Source: DoD, Bloomberg, PressTV
