US Army set to cut or curtail 186 programmes

The US Army has decided to cancel or curtail almost 186 projects to pay for modernisation priorities and readiness, after examining programmes in ‘night court’, according to the service’s outgoing chief of staff, General Mark Milley.

At a 16 January Association of the US Army breakfast meeting, Gen Milley said the service had submitted its budget up the chain and had started having meetings with key Congressional leaders.

US Army General Mike Murray, commander of Army Futures Command, and Chief of Staff of the Army General Mark Milley unfurl the Army Futures Command flag during a ceremony last August. Gen Milley has been nominated to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (US Army )

“We believe we’ve now [cut] any redundant, unnecessary, or wasteful programmes to recoup that money and put it into readiness and modernisation,” the four-star general told the audience.

“We think we have a good, solid budget that is defensible … we are hopeful that the hill will support it,” he added.

In total the service has cancelled around 80 different programmes and “either delayed or downsized” 106 additional efforts, Gen Milley later told reporters.

As the army looks to dominate today’s and tomorrow’s battlefield, it is embarking on six modernisation focal areas – Long-Range Precision Fires, the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle, Future Vertical Lift, networking, air and missile defence, and soldier lethality.