http://news.yam.com/cna/international/200806/20080610896363.html
報告：全球軍費支出排行 美1中3印度10
中央社╱中央社 2008-06-10 19:31
     
（中央社記者郭傳信新德里十日專電）據瑞典斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所公布最新年度報告，在二零零七年的國防支出排行榜上，中國和印度分別排名第三和第十，都是全球軍事硬體裝備含武器進口最多的國家之一。

報告說，中國二零零七年軍費支出為五百八十三億美元，佔全球軍費總支出百分之五，印度軍費支出為兩百四十二億美元，佔全球軍費總支出百分之二。

國際和平研究所報告指出，美國是二零零七年全球軍費支出最多的國家，為一萬三千三百九十億美元，佔全球軍費總支出百分之四十五。

據新德里軍事分析家表示，印度軍費支出有百分之三十至三十五是進口軍事硬體裝備和武器，至於中國則有百分之五十是用於進口軍事硬體裝備和武器。

今年二月底，印度財政部長齊丹巴蘭公布二零零八至零九財政年度預算報告時，曾宣布為因應印度擴大軍事現代化需求，國防支出將較上一年度增加百分之十，至兩百六十五億美元，並承諾必要時將會進一步提高軍費支出。

今年一月，印度與美國簽署一份歷來最大金額的軍事採購合約，向洛克馬丁公司採購六架C-130J超級大力士型運輸機，價值逾十億美元。

五月間，印度空軍也向國際招標，將採購一百二十六架多用途戰機，總額估計達一百億美元。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200806/20080609876183.html
全球軍費支出十年增長四成五　美國佔近半
法新社╱陳昶佑 2008-06-09 21:05     
 
 
（法新社斯德哥爾摩九日電）「斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所」今天表示，過去十年來全球軍費支出增長四成五，美國就佔了總支出的將近一半。

根據該研究所的年度報告，光是去年軍費支出就成長了百分之六。

去年全球在購買武器和其他軍事支出上，共花了一兆三千三百九十億美元，佔全球國內生產總值的百分之二點五，相當於全球六十六億人口平均每人花兩百零二美元。

美國花在軍事目的上的費用顯然最多，去年共支出五千四百七十億美元，佔全球支出的四成五。

接著是英國、中國、法國與日本，但仍遠落後美國，每個國家的軍費支出佔全球支出僅百分之四到五。

該研究所的報告說：「驅動全球軍費支出增加的因素包括外交政策目標、實際或認知到的威脅、武裝衝突，以及推動多邊維和行動的政策，再加上經濟資源可資利用等。」

東歐地區自一九九八年到二零零七年間，軍事支出暴增百分之一百六十二，是增長幅度最大地區，而二零零六至二零零七年則增長了一成五。

報告指出，俄羅斯去年軍費支出躍增一成三，佔區域成長的八成六。

此外，北美軍事支出也增長六成五，主要是由於美國增加所致；自二零零一年九月十一日紐約與華盛頓遭恐怖攻擊以來，美國軍費支出已增長五成九。

該研究所報告說：「至二零零七年，美國軍費支出比第二次世界大戰以來任何時間都還要高。」

過去十年來，中東地區軍費支出增長六成二，南亞增長五成七，非洲和東亞分別增長五成一。

西歐地區軍事支出增長幅度最低，僅百分之六，其次是中美洲的一成四。

該研究所說，以國家來看，「過去十年中國的軍費支出，依實值計算增加了三倍」，然而報告也說，「由於經濟快速成長，軍費支出的經濟負擔仍輕微，佔國內生產總值的百分之二點一」。

該研究所說，受軍費支出增加直接影響，全球百大軍火企業（不包括中國企業）二零零六年的銷售金額，較前一年增加近百分之九，增為三千一百五十億美元。

百大軍火公司中六十三家位於美國與西歐，單是這些公司二零零六年銷售金額就達兩千九百二十三億美元；當年是該研究所擁有銷售數據的最近一年。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080609/wl_afp/weaponsmilitaryresearch_080609142313;_ylt=AgU8wn9sYmFR.EcIw2g_gyqQOrgF
Global military spending soars 45 pct in 10 years

by Francis Kohn
5 minutes ago

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - World military spending grew 45 percent in the past decade, with the United States accounting for nearly half of all expenditure, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said Monday.

Military spending grew six percent last year alone, according to SIPRI's annual report.

In 2007, 1,339 billion dollars (851 billion euros) was spent on arms and other military expenditure, corresponding to 2.5 percent of global gross domestic product, or GDP -- or 202 dollars for each of the world's 6.6 billion people.

The United States spends by far the most towards military aims, dishing out 547 billion dollars last year, or 45 percent of global expenditure.

Britain, China, France and Japan, the next in line of big spenders, lag far behind, accounting for just four to five percent of world military costs each.

"The factors driving increases in world military spending include countries' foreign policy objectives, real or perceived threats, armed conflict and policies to contribute to multilateral peacekeeping operations, combined with the availability of economic resources," the SIPRI report said.

The increase is both "excessive and obscene," Jayantha Dhanapala, a SIPRI member formerly in charge of disarmament affairs at the United Nations, told reporters in Stockholm, where the annual report was presented.

Registering the greatest regional growth was Eastern Europe, which saw its military spending skyrocket 162 percent between 1998 and 2007 and 15 percent from 2006 to 2007.

Russia, whose expenditure ballooned 13 percent last year, was responsible for 86 percent of the growth in the region, according to SIPRI.

North America meanwhile saw its military spending swell 65 percent, largely pulled by the United States, which has seen its costs grow 59 percent since the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.

"By 2007, US spending was higher than at any time since World War II," the SIPRI report said.

In the past decade, the Middle East has boosted military expenditure by 62 percent, South Asia by 57 percent and Africa and East Asia by 51 percent each.

Western Europe was the region with the least military spending growth at just six percent, followed by Central America at 14 percent.

At a national level, "China has increased its military spending threefold in real terms during the past decade," SIPRI said, adding however that "due to its rapid economic growth, the economic burden of military spending is still moderate, at 2.1 percent of GDP."

As a direct result of the increased military outlay, sales by the world's 100 leading arms producing companies (excluding in China) jumped nearly nine percent in 2006 compared to the year before to 315 billion dollars, SIPRI said.

Sixty-three of the 100 top weapons firms are based in the United States and Western Europe, accounting alone for 292.3 billion dollars in sales in 2006, the last year for which SIPRI has numbers.

In its report, the group also said 14 major armed conflicts raged around the world last year -- the same number as in 2006. In 2001, there were 20, SIPRI said.

"A new type of conflict is emerging and we are seeing a fragmentation of violence," in places such as Iraq and Sudan's Darfur province, SIPRI researcher Ekaterina Stepanova told the Stockholm press conference.

This non-state violence "may have devastating consequences for civilians. All the actors tend to be opportunistic and may change sides," she added.

On an upbeat note, SIPRI chief Bates Gill meanwhile said both candidates in this year's US presidential election could help pave the way for "the most promising opportunities to see real progress in the nuclear arms control that we have seen in the last 10 years."

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200806/20080604768970.html
美國會審計局警告 國防部武器採購系統不彰
法新社╱鄭詩韻 2008-06-04 12:05    
 
 
（法新社華盛頓三日電）美國政府一名審計人員今天警告指出，美國國防部的採購系統無法為美軍帶來所需的武器，反而會造成將近三千億美元的透支。

國會審計局的史琴娜告訴議員，採購計畫已經破損不彰。

她告訴參議院軍事委員會：「首先，系統有負於戰鬥者，因為它延遲交運合用裝備，數量也比計畫的少，或是兩者皆然。」

她說：「同時多次裝備運抵戰場時，已不符當時作戰所需。」

國會審計局上個月報告，去年美國重要武器計畫的透支，成長到兩千九百五十億美元，比七十二項重要武器計畫原本預估的支出多了兩成六。

報告說，國防部預定在未來五年間，投資約九千億美元於研發及採購。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080603/pl_afp/usmilitaryprocurement_080603182927;_ylt=Ao6d8tvGnUVpDWZCvHPMxuusOrgF
Pentagon weapons procurement broken, auditor warns

by Jim Mannion
Tue Jun 3, 2:29 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Defense Department's procurement system is failing to deliver US troops the weapons they need while running up nearly 300 billion dollars in cost overruns, a government auditor warned Tuesday.
 
Katherine Schinas of the Government Accountability Office told lawmakers the procurement system is broken.

"First it has failed the warfighter because it is delivering capability late and in fewer quantities than planned, or both," she told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"And many times when equipment is delivered to the field it is not what's needed for the current operations," she said.

The GAO, a congressional audit agency, last month reported that cost overruns of major US weapons programs grew to 295 billion dollars last year, 26 percent over initial cost estimates for 72 major weapons programs.

The Defense Department expects to invest about 900 billion dollars over the next five years on development and procurement, the report said.

"There is cost growth coming that we don't yet know about," said Schinas.

"If you look at the period 1992-2007, the cost needed to complete DoD's portfolio (of weapons programs) has increased over 100 percent but the funding provided to do so increased only 57 percent. So the bow wave is going to continue," she said.

John Young, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, acknowledged many of the problems, but said the Pentagon is striving to change the procurement culture.

Still, he said, the Defense Department's acquisition workforce has gotten smaller, even though procurement is up 34 percent since 2001 and research and development budgets are up 70 percent.

"Programs cannot be successfully executed without adequate experience and capable people," he said.

Senator Carl Levin, the committee chairman, translated the 295 billion in cost overruns into weapons that the Pentagon might otherwise have been able to buy.

He said it was equivalent to two new aircraft carriers, eight attack submarines, 500 V-22 Ospreys, 500 Joint Strike Fighters, 10,000 mine-resistant armored vehicles, and the army's entire 130 billion dollar Future Combat System program.

Schinas gave some examples of procurement breakdowns.

"The army is spending billions of dollars that it did not plan to on legacy radio because its developments efforts for a new radio have gotten so bogged down," she said.

"The navy is apt to (have) a net loss in its carrier fleet capacity because it has been delayed in developing a new carrier beyond the point where it will have to start retiring current carriers," she said.

"The marines will have to wait five years to get half the quantity of expeditionary vehicles that it has planned," she said.

Schinas said part of the problem was that military requirements for weapons were "based on wants, not needs."

She said that had been exacerbated by the Pentagon's move away from matching requirements to threats early in the current administration.

But she said requirements set by the military departments and approved by the vice chiefs "reflect parochial interests rather than current warfighter needs."

Moreover, the Pentagon increasingly relies for solutions to its requirements on a defense industry that has shrunk to a handful of companies.

"Some believe that more money is the answer. But the DoD has already tried spending more money. Investment in weapon acquisition programs is now almost at the highest level in two decades, and the outcomes have only gotten worse," she said.

http://udn.com/NEWS/WORLD/WOR6/4353975.shtml
1650億美元伊阿戰費案 參院通過
 
【世界日報╱洛杉磯時報二十三日訊】 2008.05.23 07:39 pm

參院絕大多數共和黨員22日公然反對布希總統的立場，與民主黨議員共同通過1650億元戰爭經費法案，並通過數百億元的附加法案大幅擴增退伍軍人福利，及增加失業福利。參院通過的法案為伊拉克和阿富汗戰爭提供1650億元經費，可是加上白宮反對的各種內政開支，包括擴大失業福利、能源補助等等，總金額約2120億元。

參院提案規定，軍人只要服役滿三年，就可以獲得相當於收費最高的州立大學學費的教育福利，藉此保證向伊拉克和阿富汗戰爭退伍軍人提供免費大學教育。

【本報華盛頓特派員林寶慶報導】國會參院院會22日通過伊拉克及阿富汗戰爭緊急追加預算案，其中移民相關條款在最後關頭全部遭刪除。「有線電視新聞網」道布斯節目（Lou Dobbs）主持人道布斯21日在節目中強烈抨擊法案中的移民相關條款，及提出增加H2A農工簽證條款的加州參議員范士丹。

【2008/05/23 世界日報】

http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2008-05-15/1104500416.html
加拿大宣佈20年武器採購計畫 總值達300億美元

http://www.sina.com.cn 2008年05月15日 11:04 北方科技資訊研究所

　　據美國《防務新聞》2008年5月13日報導 加拿大總理哈普5月12日宣佈了一項300億美元的20年計畫以裝備加拿大軍隊，並促進加拿大的國防工業。該計畫將包括主要水面艦艇、海上巡邏機、固定翼搜救飛機、戰鬥機和地面作戰車輛與系統。

　　哈普表示，如果該國要在世界上獲得地位，它需要有能力去行動。新計畫將加強該國的主權以及國內安全，並推動保護海外價值與利益的能力。此項預算開支有助於該國在未來20年內提供全部的國防裝備，並重建軍事力量。

　　這項長期採購計畫有望給軍工企業提供清晰的軍事需求藍圖，有助於他們更好地計畫並滿足這些需要。政府表示，要鼓勵本土國防工業並增加武器出口。 (北方科技資訊研究所 薛亞波)

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3524441&c=AME&s=ALL
Canada Announces 20-Year Plan to Rebuild Military
agence france-presse
Published: 12 May 14:32 EDT (10:32 GMT)

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced May 12 a $30 billion plan to re-equip Canada's military, to boost its recruiting and to bolster Canada's defense industry over the next 20 years.

The initiative will include major combat fleet replacements of surface combat ships, maritime patrol craft, fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft, fighter aircraft, and land combat vehicles and systems.

Canada will also increase its troop numbers to 70,000 regular soldiers and 30,000 reservists, for a total increase of 11,000 troops.

"If you want to be taken seriously in the world, you need the capacity to act - it's that simple," said Harper.

The new spending "will strengthen our sovereignty and security at home and bolster our ability to defend our values and interests abroad," he said.

Past administrations, the prime minister lamented, responded "to the increasing problems of rust-out and obsolescence of equipment as one-off purchases as the budget allowed, or as conditions ... have commanded."

"We've built in an escalating budget framework to allow us to replace over the next 20 years the full range of national defense equipment, and to rebuild the personnel of the forces," Harper told a press conference.

The long-term procurement plan is also hoped to provide defense firms with a clear outline of Canada's military needs, in order to help them better plan to help meet those needs, Harper said.

Previously, the government has indicated it wanted to encourage local defense firms to increase their arms exports.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200805/20080507216190.html
伊阿美軍即將斷餉 國防部要求盡快通過軍費
法新社╱郭無患 2008-05-07 12:20     
 
 
（法新社華盛頓六日電）美國國防部今天警告指出，除非國會盡快通過行政部門要求，卻延宕已久的作戰經費，否則六月十五日以後美軍就發不出戰士薪餉。

民主黨控制的國會與行政部門，為了二零零八年會計年度美國在伊拉克與阿富汗軍事作戰所需的一千零八十億美元軍費，相互僵持已久，發不出薪餉是最新的說詞。

如果國會授權國防部從別的預算科目挪移關餉之用，還是可以發給戰士薪餉，但國防部施加壓力要求通過整個預算。

國防部新聞秘書莫瑞爾表示：「我們在六月十五日付給戰士薪餉的錢快沒有了，除非國會採取行動通過追加預算，或授權讓我們重新挪移經費」。

他表示，「我們現在沒有獲得授權在六月十五日以後給付戰士薪餉」。

美國國防部長蓋茨上週寄交一封信給國會議員表示，對於國會議員計劃在五月二十六日陣亡將士紀念日對二零零八年戰爭經費法案採取行動，他聽到這個消息後感到十分鼓舞。

莫瑞爾說，國會幕僚今天稍早已經預算狀況的簡報，他指出：「我知道我們曾經對這個問題提出關切，但我們已再一次面對財務短缺」。

「除非國會在未來幾週內撥款一千零八十億美元，否則我們大部分在伊拉克及阿富汗作戰的部隊將拿不到薪餉，而他們達成的重要目標也將陷入危殆」。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080506/pl_afp/usmilitarybudgetiraqafghanistan_080506174346;_ylt=AqaeSwIQ8SUdB0PGuXW4bVqsOrgF
Pentagon warns of June pay crunch for troops

Tue May 6, 1:43 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon warned Tuesday the US Army will not be able to pay its soldiers beyond June 15 unless Congress acts soon on a stalled request from the administration for war funding.
 
It was the latest salvo in a long-running impasse between the Democratic-controlled Congress and the administration over a 108-billion dollar request to fund US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2008 fiscal year.

The pay crunch would be eased if Congress authorized funds to be moved from other accounts to pay soldiers, but the Pentagon is pressing for approval of the full budget request.

"We run out of money in order to pay soldiers after June 15 unless the Congress acts to pass the supplemental or provide us with the reprogramming authorities to move money within accounts," said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

"We do not have the authorities right now to pay soldiers beyond June the 15," he told reporters.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week sent a letter to members of Congress saying he was encouraged to hear they planned to act on the 2008 war funding bill by the Memorial Day holiday on May 26.

Morrell said congressional staffers were briefed on the budget situation earlier Tuesday.

"I know we have raised concerns about this issue before, but we are once again getting down to crunch time," he said.

"And unless Congress appropriates the 108 billion dollars in the next few weeks, most of our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan could go without pay, and the critical progress they have achieved will be in jeopardy."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080422/pl_nm/iraq_usa_budget_dc_3
War costs could be under $170 bln: Pentagon

By Andrea Shalal-Esa
Tue Apr 22, 7:22 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost the United States less than the $170 billion estimate given earlier this year by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the Pentagon's budget chief said on Tuesday.
 
"I expect it to be less," Pentagon Comptroller Tina Jonas told Reuters after a speech to a conference sponsored by Jane's Information Group. She did not give a figure.

Jonas said would discuss with Gates whether to give lawmakers a total estimate for war spending needs. The Bush administration has already requested $70 billion for the fiscal year starting October 1 and is pushing for about $100 billion more for the current fiscal year.

Asked whether Congress might combine fiscal 2008 and 2009 war spending, Jonas told the conference she was confident that lawmakers would "come to some accommodation."

That idea got a boost from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, who told reporters, "It makes sense to me to attach (FY09) bridge funding to get us...into early next (calendar) year."

Levin was to meet with Gates this week to discuss ways of prodding Iraq to pay for more of its own reconstruction costs, relieving U.S. taxpayers of some of the burden. "My own approach would be to prohibit the obligation of funds in certain areas, including Iraqi reconstruction," Levin said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, agreed, saying: "It's only fair and appropriate they (Iraqis) fight more and they pay more."

Democrats also expect to try to add language to the war-funding bill on ending the U.S. combat role in Iraq, which President George W. Bush has consistently opposed.

The White House has warned Congress it must approve additional war funds by the end of May or risk the start of Defense Department layoff notices.

Jonas said the Pentagon was working on contingency plans, in case those funds were not approved.

COST PRESSURES WEIGH

She said U.S. defense spending, including base budgets and supplemental war spending, was around 4.7 percent of gross domestic product -- lower than during other major conflicts.

Defense spending reached 8.9 percent during the Vietnam War and 6 percent during the defense buildup under former President Ronald Reagan.

Jones expressed concern about rising operating costs, spurred by a tripling of spending on fuel and steady increases in health care costs.

In constant fiscal year 2009 dollars, the Pentagon budget was expected to decline 3.3 percent by fiscal 2013, she said.

Procurement spending was expected to increase 9 percent over the same period, while research and development spending would fall nearly 14 percent.

She warned that pressures on defense spending were mounting, as the country was forced to spend more on health care for the poor and elderly and the next administration could be facing a possible "train wreck."

Jonas also expressed concern about cost increases and schedule delays in major defense acquisition programs. She said 17 programs had breached congressional cost overrun thresholds and required certification to continue.

The portfolio of major defense programs had grown by $900 billion to $1.7 trillion since fiscal year 2001, but cost growth accounted for 44 percent of that, Jonas said.

"That is a stunner. We have got to do better in managing costs," she said, noting that would be a big challenge for the next administration.

(additional reporting by Richard Cowan, editing by Alan Elsner and Eric Walsh)

http://news.yam.com/afp/fn/200804/20080423064238.html
油價每漲一美元　美國防開支增加1.3億美元
法新社╱郭無患 2008-04-23 11:20    
 
 
（法新社華盛頓二十二日電）去年油品花費一百五十億美元的美國國防部今天表示，非常關切油價上漲問題，因為油品價格每上漲一美元，國防預算就要增加一億三千萬美元。

美國國防部首席財務主管、國防部次長卓納斯在一項由詹氏防衛資訊集團所主辦的研討會中指出，油價「是我們現今關切的重大事項」。

她補充指出：「過去四年，燃料價格成長超過三倍」，「燃料用油成本每增加一美元，我們的執行成本就會增加一億三千萬美元」。

紐約原油期貨今天創下每桶一百一十九點三七美元的紀錄，盤中一度位於一百二十美元重要指標性門檻價格。

前國防部主管國際安全政策的副助理部長查登柏格在會中表示：「國防部對不斷攀升的油價成本感到格外困擾，因為國防部是美國最大的油品消耗者」。

卓納斯表示，國防部二零零九會計年度的所有預算，不包括伊拉克戰爭以及阿富汗戰爭所需，大約是五千一百五十億美元的規模，到二零一三年將成長百分之六點五，達到五千四百九十億美元。

她指出，預算增加其實還包括同一期間，通貨膨脹因素調整後的美元幣值下跌百分之三點三。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080423/pl_afp/usmilitarybudgetoil_080423074627
Pentagon worried about spiking oil prices

2 hours, 56 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - After spending 15 billion dollars on oil in 2007, the Pentagon said Tuesday it was concerned over rising prices, since for every dollar oil goes up in price, an extra 130 million has to be added to its budget.
 
Oil price is "a significant concern for us today," Undersecretary of Defense Tina Jonas, the Pentagon's chief financial officer, told a conference organized by Jane's defense information group.

"Fuel has more than tripled in price over the past four years," Jonas said, adding that "for every dollar increase in the cost of fuel, we end up increasing by 130 million dollars in terms of operational costs."

Oil futures Tuesday leapt to a record close of 119.37 dollars a barrel in New York, after briefly skirting the symbolic threshold of 120 dollars.

The spiraling cost of oil is especially troublesome for the Pentagon since the "DoD (Department of Defense) is the largest consumer of oil in the United States," David Trachtenberg, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security policy, said in his presentation.

Jonas said the Pentagon's overall budget for fiscal 2009, excluding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stood at 515 billion dollars and was expected to increase by 6.5 percent to 549 billion by 2013.

The increase, she added, actually translated to a 3.3 percent drop over the same period, in inflation-adjusted dollars.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080402010569.html
美國防武器開支超出預算 進度落後
法新社╱郭無患 2008-04-02 19:35    

 
 
（法新社華盛頓一日電）美國國會審計局發現，美國國防部在主要武器系統上的花費，已經沖高到一兆六千億美元，這是二十年以來的高點。

審計局表示，從戰鬥機到戰艦、以及衛星等七十二項計畫，二零零七年已超出預算兩千九百五十億美元，平均每項計畫落後時程二十一個月。

審計局指出，雖然阿富汗戰爭與伊拉克戰爭不斷爭食國防預算，並對美國政府其他單位預算產生排擠效應，新武器系統的花費仍然持續上升。

根據審計局對國防部武獲計畫所完成的第六次年度報告，國防部對武器系統的投資，從兩千年七千九百億美元，加倍成長到去年的一兆六千億美元。

報告指出，兩千年的武獲成本較最初預估高了百分之六，而去年武獲成本較最初預估高了百分之二十六，更甚者，二零零七年的研究與發展成本超出預算百分之四十。

審計局認為，武獲成本超過預算將很難繼續維持，因為武器計畫面對海外作戰、以及其他例如社會安全基金等非軍事項目計畫的激烈爭食預算。

報告說，國防部計劃在未來五年內投資約九千億美元，用來發展或獲取武器系統，其中百分之三十七的三千三百五十多億美元，將用在重要新武器系統上。

審計局代審計長杜達洛昨天在對國會遞交的報告中說：「用在發展和獲取武器系統，但不具效益的每一塊錢，對許多其他外部或內部的預算優先項目而言，例如全球反恐作戰、以及社安基金等津貼給與計畫，就是少了可供運用的一塊錢」。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080401/pl_afp/uspoliticsweaponsbudget_080401174246;_ylt=AkMajrIduAR5JbNebgWX4RysOrgF
US weapons budget comes under fire for overspending

by Laurent Thomet
Tue Apr 1, 1:42 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Pentagon spending on major weapons systems has rocketed to 1.6 trillion dollars, a two-decade high, with programs going over budget and falling behind schedule, a government audit found.
 
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said 72 programs, ranging from fighter jets to combat ships and satellites, were over budget by 295 billion dollars in 2007 and behind schedule by an average of 21 months.

The spending on new weaponry continued to rise despite funding competition from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a decline in discretionary spending in other areas of the US government budget, the GAO said.

Defense Department (DOD) investment in weapons systems doubled from 790 billion dollars in 2000 to 1.6 trillion dollars last year, the GAO said in its sixth annual report on the department's acquisitions program.

While acquisition costs were six percent higher than original estimates in 2000, they were 26 percent higher last year, the report said. Moreover, research and development costs were 40 percent over budget in 2007.

The cost overruns will be difficult to sustain as the weapons programs face stiff competition for funds from the wars as well as non-military programs such as social security, the GAO said.

The Pentagon plans to invest about 900 billion dollars over the next five years on development and procurement, including more than 335 billion dollars, or 37 percent, for new major weapon systems, the report said.

"Every dollar spent inefficiently in developing and procuring weapon systems is less money available for many other internal and external budget priorities -- such as the global war on terror and growing entitlement programs (such as social security)," Gene Dodaro, the GAO's acting comptroller general, said in the report delivered to Congress on Monday.

"These inefficiencies also often result in the delivery of less capability than initially planned, either in the form of fewer quantities or delayed delivery to the warfighter," Dodaro said.

Despite efforts to improve the acquisitions process since 2003, the changes have yet to translate into best practices on individual programs, he said.

But, he added, Pentagon leaders have launched initiatives aimed at improving the department's acquisitions process.

"Successful implementation will have significant implications for decisions made on individual programs, DOD's larger modernization goals, and the nation at large," Dodaro said.

The Pentagon said it was too soon to respond to the report.

"Since the report came out just yesterday afternoon, we'd like to look at what GAO has said, and then at the appropriate time make an informed comment," the Pentagon said in a statement.

http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2008-04-02/1137493090.html
美國72項主要武器研發和採購超支2950億美元

http://www.sina.com.cn 2008年04月02日 11:37 中國新聞網

　　中新網4月2日電 美國《華盛頓郵報》1日引述國會下屬的政府問責局的報告說，美國主要武器系統研發嚴重超支，並且進度緩慢。

　　據香港《明報》報導，報告說，以去年為例，包括新式戰鬥機、軍艦和衛星在內的72個主要武器開發專案的實際費用超出預算2950億美元，專案進度平均落後預定時間21個月。在美國財政吃緊的情況下，武器開發超支卻日益嚴重。在2000年，武器專案的超支幅度為6%。到了2007年，超支比例達26%。

　　報告說，在未來5年內，美國國防部還計畫投入約9000億美元用於武器研發和採購，其中武器開發費用為3350億美元。報告指出，在目前美國財政因伊拉克戰爭和社會保障負擔加重而日益吃緊的情況下，軍方超支開發武器的做法將難以為繼。