Zakheim: Budget supports transformation.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Washington Pulse - Undersecretary of defense Dov Zakheim comments on proposed defense budget - Brief Article

The $400 billion defense budget that the president proposed for 2004 "closes and prevents gaps between resources and requirements," particularly in the area of transformational concepts, said Dov Zakheim, undersecretary of defense and comptroller, in a recent speech to defense executives. Changes in strategy, weapons systems and overall management of the department altered priorities at the Pentagon, he added.

Approximately $20 billion is earmarked for transformational acquisition programs, he said.

Zakheim said that the rise of new technologies is replacing the need for full replacement of old systems. For example, fielding unmanned vehicles mean that "we don't necessarily need one-for-one replacement of systems, such as tactical aircraft." In the past, the acquisition of aircraft simply followed the pattern of previous aircraft, he...