Defense Issues
Abstract
Between 1980 and 1985, the annual defense budget doubled. Since then, it has declined in real terms. For 1989, it stands at $300 billion and the Department of Defense (DOD) will likely have to live with constrained or no growth budgets for sometime to come. Yet, each of the services says it needs many billions of dollars more to complete its modernization and expansion programs. For example, DOD recently estimated the cost of the first strategic defense system at $69 billion, while other estimates of the cost for deploying a full population protection strategic defense system range as high as a trillion dollars. In addition to the high costs to acquire weapons, additional billions of dollars will be needed to operate and maintain them. In short, DOD needs to balance strength with affordability. DOD must adjust its proposed programs and spending patterns to recognize current fiscal realities. Its 1988-1992 five-year defense plan contained programs which would cost about $200 billion more than DOD can expect to receive during that period. And even this inflated plan would not complete all planned programs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- AD1174476
Entities
People
- Charles Arthur Bowsher
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office