07 April,2009 12:01 PM IST | | IANS
The United States proposes to more than double its fleet of drones used extensively in operations against terrorists along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region as it increases funding for counter-terrorism operations by $500 million.
"To boost global partnership capacity efforts, we will increase funding by $500 million," Defence Secretary Robert Gates said announcing a 2010 Pentagon budget yesterday. "These initiatives include training and equipping foreign militaries to undertake counter terrorism and stability operations."
Reflecting major changes in the "scope and significance" of Defence Department priorities, the proposed budget cuts several traditional big-ticket items while investing in programmes designed to bolster the military's ability to wage an ongoing conflict against terrorists and other extremist elements in multiple regions at the same time.
Gates requested 50 Predator and Reaper-class unmanned aerial vehicles by fiscal year 2011, translating to a 62 percent increase in capability over the current level and 127 percent from a year ago. The Predator has been used extensively by the military in operations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.
Among other things, Gates called for production of the Air Force's most expensive fighter, the F-22 Raptor, to be phased out by fiscal year 2011. He also called for terminating a proposed fleet of 23 presidential helicopters estimated to cost more than $13 billion.
