WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama promised greater scrutiny of Pentagon weapons buying in his 2010 budget released Thursday, following recent runaway costs and missed deadlines on some multibillion-dollar Defense Department weapons contracts.
Obama's $533.7 billion base budget for the Pentagon does not include specifics on how much will be spent on acquisitions or provide details on any of the military's weapons programs, which combined usually comprise a large share of overall defense spending.
But the proposal does say the Pentagon will have to contain cost growth and delays as weapons programs move from planning stages to production by defense contractors. The reforms "will set realistic requirements and stick to them," according to the budget text.
The Pentagon awards billions of dollars in contracts each year for planes, ships, tanks and other warfighting equipment from defense contractors like Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. The Bush administration's 2009 fiscal year budget set aside $184 billion for defense procurement and weapons research, which rose 15 percent over two years.
Some of the biggest programs have suffered delays and cost growth. That includes the Navy's plan to build new stealth destroyers and the cost of the $337 billion F-35 fighter jet program led by Lockheed, which is about 45 percent higher than its 2001 price tag.
The Government Accountability Office estimated last spring that procurement costs were 26 percent over original estimates for 72 weapons programs. Some analysts predict those cost overruns could eventually lead to cuts for some big spending programs.
Earlier this week, Obama singled out the $11.2 billion price tag on a new fleet of Marine helicopters to carry the president, a Lockheed contract with costs nearly double its original estimate. In his speech to Congress Tuesday, Obama also said that changes would ensure "we're not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don't use."
A bill introduced by Sens. Carl Levin, D.-Mich., and John McCain D.-Ariz., would require the Pentagon to conduct more rigorous review of programs during their design stage, appoint a new official to evaluate program costs and do a better job of making sure new technology actually works.
Jim McAleese, a defense industry consultant, said that type of language means there will be a greater Pentagon emphasis on affordability of contracts and buying weapons with technology that is already proven. It also will force defense contractors to be much more diligent in keeping costs under control.
"It means you are going to have to perform," he said of the defense industry.
Industry officials said they agreed with Obama's push for defense reform, but that defense contractors and the Pentagon share responsibility when it comes to containing costs and keeping on schedule.
"The onus really is on all of us," said Cord Sterling, a vice president at the Aerospace Industries Association, which represents most of the nation's largest defense contractors.
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