Sen. Mark R. Warner is all for defense modernization. But just don’t touch those aircraft carriers, six of which are based in Norfolk.
The Virginia Democrat had said a year ago that rather than investing in 20th-century military technology, he wanted to discuss “a reallocation of some of those resources” to deal with the 21st-century challenge of cyberthreats. But when the Navy this week proposed to retire the carrier Harry S. Truman to save money for modernization, Warner urged it to “reassess this decision.”
This battle between past and future is the hidden drama within the gargantuan $750 billion fiscal 2020 defense budget proposal. Nearly everyone favors high-tech weapons to combat great-power adversaries in the new millennium, in principle. But meanwhile, the military-industrial-congressional complex, as John McCain termed it, keeps pumping vast sums to sustain legacy weapons systems.
The 2020 budget, shaped by acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan, does propose some important changes. Spending for space programs would increase about 15 percent, and funding for cyberprograms would rise 10 percent. Yes, the Navy wants to add two new carriers while dropping the Truman, but it also proposes to build two big drone warships and some unmanned subs. The Army plans to cut or reduce 93 outmoded programs for vehicles, weapons and helicopters to make room for modernization.
“Overall, I think it’s moving in the right direction,” said Christian Brose, former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The emphasis on modernization is clear and welcome.”
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