My Defense Reforms Proposals Package (DRPP) was published on this blog 5 times (the 4 newest editions are revised editions). I’ve calculated that my proposals, if implemented, would result in huge annual savings. I cannot calculate the exact total annual savings because I do not have sufficient data, but just several of my reforms, if combined together, would yield a total annual saving of $60.269 bn dollars. That is $482.152 bn over an 8-year administration, assuming that a future US Administration would implement these several proposals. Additionally, replacing all MH-60 helos and all UH-1 Huey helos with the same helicopter type would yield a one-time saving, $600 mn.
These huge savings beg the question: what would they be spent on? My answer is: if I was the USSECDEF, I’d spend 100% of these savings on equipment (specifically, equipment procurement and equipment RDTE). I’d spend the exact calculated savings on the following purposes:
1) 1340 additional F-35s (on top of the 2443 planes already ordered by the US military) (including 45 F-35s to replace 45 F-16s that were retired in 2005, 55 F-35s to reconstitute 2 squadrons, 55 F-35s to reconstitute a fighterplane wing that was retired unreplaced, 635 F-35s to replace 635 obsolete aircraft (224 F-15Es, over 120 F-15C/Ds, and hundreds of A-10s), and 550 F-35s to expand the USAF. The cost: $111.22 bn.
2) 85 additional C-17s (to replace all the retired C-141s and to replace all C-5s, which were deployed during the 1960s, not to expand the cargoplane fleet). The cost: $17 bn.
3) 9 new warhead types (assuming that the NNSA and the American nuclear arsenal, as well as their budgets, would be transferred from the DOE to the DOD). The cost: $1.152 bn.
4) 50 additional MMIII ICBMs to replace the 50 MMIII ICBMs that were retired unreplaced in 2008. They were cannibalized for spare parts, which the USAF desperately needed to maintain the rest of its ICBM fleet. Their 50 silos are empty.
5) 5 additional SSBNs to rebuild the number of SSBNs back to 19. The cost: $7.5 bn ($1.5 bn per submarine)
6) 203 (141+62) Chinook helicopters to replace all MH-60 CSAR helos and all Huey helicopters. Such a common replacement type would yield a saving of $600 mn. The cost would be $2.71411 bn.
7) 40 additional Arleigh Burke class BMD vessels to defend America and its allies (including Israel and Arab states) from ballistic missiles (including Iranian ballistic missiles). This would be undisputably my biggest weapon order. The cost: $60 bn.
8) 3 additional hospital ships which could be used e.g. during hurricane seasons. The cost: $2.1 bn.
9) 129 Super Hercules planes to expand the cargoplane fleet. The cost: $8.5785 bn.
10) 23 additional CV-22 CSAR planes to replace the 22 MH-53 CSAR helos which were retired unreplaced and 1 CV-22 plane that crashed in 2010. The cost: $1.564 bn.
11) 35 additional San Antonio class LPDs (to retire the 35 LPDs which will retire unreplaced because the treasonous politicians on capitol hill severely reduced the orders for San Antonio class LPDs). The cost: $24.5 bn.
12) 35 submarines to replace the 35 submarines (of the LA class and the Seawolf class) that will retire unreplaced unless orders for submarines are increased. The cost: $61.25 bn.
13) 402 additional F-18E/Fs to replace the 2 F-18s that crashed last year and the 400 F-18s that will retire unreplaced because of Obama’s defense cuts. The cost: $22.1904 bn.
14) 14*15 + 14 additional ground-based interceptors. The cost: $15.68 bn.
15) 55 additional MH-47 helos to expand the CSARH fleet. The cost: $715 mn.
16) A program to modernize all C-5As (including a sub-program to replace all engines of all C-5As). The cost: $9.990 bn.
17) 39 additional CV-22s to replace 39 C-2 Greyhound aircraft. The cost: $2.652 bn.
18) The submarines SSN-21 and SSN-22 should be modified (by adding a Multi-Mission Platform to them) to become able to launch Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and commandos. The cost: $1.774 bn.
19) All RG-31s should be replaced with RG-33 MRAP vehicles. The cost: $600 mn.
20) Many additional weapon programs.
The total cost would be just $351.18001 bn over 8 years, and 100% of it would be paid for with the known savings that would be yielded by my defense reforms ($482.152 bn). The procurement costs mentioned above (all stated in 2010 dollars), if spread over 8 years, would amount to only $43.89750125 bn per year (plus an additional $2.4 bn dollar annual cost of maintaining additional 20 USAF wings, including 12 fighterplane wings, 1 CSARH wing and 7 Super Hercules wings), whereas the savings would amount to $60.269 bn per year. That means I could invest sufficient funds in 14 different procurement programs and replace many obsolete weapons at no additional cost to American taxpayers. I wouldn’t even need an above-inflation-rate budget hike from the DOD.
