Senate Bill Would Provide Equipment Upgrades

The Senate version of the 2015 defense-spending bill contains numerous provisions to upgrade or obtain new equipment. Included are funds for the Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, modifications of the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M1 Abrams tank and Apache helicopter, and research and procurement of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. The measure would authorize funding for each of the three variants of the Joint Strike Fighter, as well as the Navy’s EA-18G Growler, should a Navy study deem it necessary. The Air Force would receive funding to modernize avionics on the C-130 Hercules transport, as well as upgrades for the aircraft’s engine. The Senate also formally disagreed with the Air Force’s plans to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II close-air-support aircraft. The measure bars the Air Force from retiring the A-10, as well as any Airborne Warning and Control Aircraft (AWACS). The bill also calls for sustaining the production rate of Tomahawk missiles at 200, rather than the 100 as proposed by the administration.