US News – U.S. President Donald Trump’s $750-billion defense budget includes more money to build ships, fulfilling a campaign promise to strengthen the Navy, but also cuts the number of Boeing Co KC-46 tanker jets, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
The defense spending request to Congress is the largest ever in dollar terms, but not after being adjusted for inflation, and is meant to counter the growing strength of the Chinese and Russian militaries.
The Navy saw an increase of 5 percent, or $9.9 billion, in top-line funding to kick off a quicker pace of ship construction, including aircraft carriers made by Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Virginia and Columbia class nuclear submarines made by Huntington and General Dynamics.
The Air Force had a slightly larger budget increase of 6.1 percent, or $11.8 billion. But in a blow to Boeing, the Trump administration cut the number of orders for the KC-46 refueling tankers to 12, from 15 requested in the previous year. The program has been troubled by cost overruns and problems with the construction process.
