The impressive numbers of the defense plan approved by the United States Senate

@DefAviation ES 12·07·2022 · 23:16 0

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The US Senate announced yesterday an agreement between Democrats and Republicans to pass la Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. This law provides for spending of 857.9 billion dollars on defense by 2023, and also indicates the total strength that the five service branches of the US Armed Forces will have:

• Army: 452,000.
• Navy: 354,000.
• Air Force: 325,344.
• Marine Corps: 177,000.
• Space Force: 8,600.

Let us now see some of the new features that this law presents for each branch of the Armed Forces.

Air Force

• 4 additional Gulfstream EC-37B Compass Call electronic jamming aircraft.
• 5 additional F-35A fighters.
• 10 additional HH-60W Pave Hawk helicopters.
• Prohibits the removal of F-22 Raptor Block 20 fighters.
• 301 million dollars to accelerate the AWACS program Boeing E-7 Wedgetail.
• Prevents or modifies retirement plans for B-1B Lancer bombers, F-15 Eagle fighters, AWACS E-3 Sentry and transport aircraft Boeing C-40 Clipper.
• Increases funding for General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones.

Army

• More funds for the acquisition of armored fighting vehicles, ammunition, and air and anti-missile defenses.
• More funds for the CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
• More funds for surface-to-air missiles M-SHORAD and MIM-104 Patriot.
• More funding for M-1 Abrams tanks, M-109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers, and modernization of M-1126 Stryker infantry fighting vehicles .
• More funding for infantry squad vehicles, medium vehicles, and heavy tactical vehicles, dump trucks, and modernization of Humvees.

Navy and Marine Corps

• 25 new hovercraft LCAC-100.
• 15 new Arleigh Burke class destroyers.
• 8 new Lewis class oil tankers.
• 5 new amphibious ships.
• 2 new Virginia class submarines.
• 2 new fast expeditionary transports.
• 1 Constellation class frigate.
• 1 San Antonio class amphibious ship.
• 1 John Lewis class refueling ship.
• 1 Navajo class towing, salvage and rescue boat.
• More funding for the America-class LHA-10 amphibious aircraft carrier.
• 8 new F-18E/F Super Hornet fighters.
• 16 new F-35C fighters.
• 15 new F-35B fighters.
• 2 new V-22 Osprey convertiplanes.
• 7 new AWACS E-2D Hawkeye aircraft.
• 5 new KC-130J Super Hercules tanker aircraft.
• 3 new MQ-4 Triton drones.
• 4 new MQ-25 Stingray drones.
• 12 heavy helicopters Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion.
• 5.9 billion dollars for 2,365 munitions for the Armadat.
• 250 million dollars for Standard missiles.
• 200 million dollars for Naval Strike Missiles (NSM).
• $53 million for long-range anti-ship missiles.
• 20 million dollars for RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
• 200 additional Mk-54 torpedoes.
• 55 additional Mk-48 torpedoes.
• 79 additional AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

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Photo: USAF. An "elephant walk" with American F-15 and F-22 fighters carried out at the Kadena airbase, in Okinawa, Japan, on November 22, 2022.