Summary: Senate Defense Appropriations Chairman’s Mark (FY 2018)

View as PDF

Top Line

Total Appropriations[1]

• Net grand total: $643.7 billion (an increase of $51.7 billion from FY 2017)
• Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO): $64.9 billion
• Emergency Funding: $4.5 billion (for missile defeat and defense enhancements)

Military personnel

• Active Duty Forces: 1,322,500
• Reserves: 816,900

Military Pay

• Increase: 2.4% (2.1% was requested)

Select Nuclear Weapons Program Breakdown

Ohio Replacement Strategic Submarine (Columbia Class)

• Procurement: $843 million
• Research and Development: $801 million

Long range strike bomber (Conventional and Nuclear)

• Research and Development: $2 billion

Long Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO)

• Research and Development: $451 million

Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD)

•  Research and Development: $201 million

Trident II

•  Modifications: $1.1 billion

Select Conventional Program Breakdown

Shipbuilding

• Navy Shipbuilding Program Total: $21.8 billion ($1.4 billion increase from the Administration’s request)
  • Funds the construction of 10 new ships: 
    • 1 Aircraft Carrier
    • 2 Virginia class submarines
    • 2 DDG-51 destroyers
    • 2 Littoral Combat Ships
    • 1 LXR/LPD amphibious warship
    • 1 Expeditionary Fast Transport ship
    • 1 T-AGS oceanographic survey ship. 

Aircraft Procurement

The following funding was not requested in the Administration’s request:

• Four F-35 carrier variant and four F-35 vertical take-off Joint Strike Fighters: $1 billion
• Eight MC-130J aircraft (Special Operations Command): $800 million
• 10 F-18 Super Hornet aircraft (Navy): $739 million
• Six V-22 helicopters (Marine Corps & Navy): $495 million
• Eight MH-60R helicopters (Navy): $400 million
• Four KC-130J tanker aircraft (Marine Corps): $343 million
• Nine AH-64E Apache helicopters (Army): $309 million
• Two CH-53K King Stallion helicopters (Marine Corps): $250 million
• Four CH-47G Chinook helicopters (Special Operations Command): $247 million
• Eight UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters (Army National Guard): $108 million
• One HC-130J aircraft (Air Force): $100 million
• 11 UH-72 Lakota helicopters (Army): $90 million

Afghanistan Security Forces Fund

• $4.2 billion ($759 million reduction from the Administration’s request)

National Defense Sealift Fund

• Rejected the entire $509 million requested by the Administration.

Prompt Global Strike Capability Development

• Research and Development: $202 million

Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)

• $531 million ($12 million reduction from the Administration’s request)

Cooperative Threat Reduction

• $325 million

Chemical Weapons Destruction

• $962 million

Navy Accident Repairs (USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald)

• $674 million

Missile Defense 

Total Appropriations

• $9.3 billion ($1.4 billion above the Administration’s request)

Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)

•  Accelerates the development and fielding of 20 additional Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs) with a Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV), the construction of an additional missile field in Fort Greely, Alaska and various sensor upgrades.
• Committee states that following successful completion of a flight test, with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) maintaining a ‘Fly before you buy’ acquisition approach, employment of 20 additional GBIs with RKVs is scheduled to begin in late 2021 and be completed by the end of fiscal year 2023.

[1] While Department of Energy nuclear programs and military construction are included in the defense authorization bill, they are covered in separate appropriations bills.