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The US Army announced in July that it had selected ScorpionW2, similar to what it now wears in

Afghanistan, as the new base combat uniform camouflage pattern that is to be phased in by 2018. (US

Army)1365409

This return to Iraq comes amid a continued 'rebalance' to the Asia-Pacific region, a mission to aid Ebola

treatment efforts in Western Africa, a larger rotational presence in Eastern Europe to reassure allies that

fear a bellicose Russia, and an unusual defence budgeting process hampered by political squabbling.

Congress has yet to complete work on its fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015) defence legislation - a stop-gap

Continuing Resolution (CR) is funding the government through to 11 December - and crafting the necessary

bills may, for the second consecutive year, require a procedural workaround to reconcile the House and

Senate version of the budget.

[Continued in full version]

Land

It has been a busy 2014 for the US Army and 2015 looks as though it will be equally hectic.

Army units - mainly headquarters staff and some rotational forces - have been sent to aide efforts to quell

a deadly Ebola outbreak in Western Africa, for counterterrorism and advisory missions in Iraq, and as a

counterweight to Russia in Eastern Europe.

The army is also continuing its element of the White House's 'rebalance' to the Asia-Pacific region and in

August began its 'Pacific Pathways' engagement programme with a battalion deploying to a variety of

international exercises in the Pacific region.


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US Army Pacific (ARPAC) expects to grow Pacific Pathways with at least three deployments in FY 2015 and

then three each year thereafter. Each training pathway is a series of stops - ARPAC commander General

Vincent Brooks envisions two to three stops per pathway - that ideally would be in three different

geographic areas to increase US Pacific Command's options for using those troops in the event of an

emergency.

Despite concerns regarding Russia's actions in Ukraine's civil conflict, the US Army still appears to be

sending troops back to the Pacific as deployments to Afghanistan are set to wind down in the next two

years.

There are now about 80,000 soldiers assigned to the Pacific, including the South Korea-based US 8th Army,

although the force posture there is to alter somewhat because the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd

Infantry Division, in South Korea is to be deactivated after being headquartered in South Korea since 1965.

Still, US combat power on the peninsula is likely to be unchanged as about 4,600 soldiers from the 2nd

Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, will replace the deactivated unit and mark the first brigade

combat team (BCT) to rotate into South Korea under a new nine-month deployment plan.


The AMPV is to replace the army's ageing M113s, which originated more than 60 years ago. The newest A3model is shown here. (BAE Systems)


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Air

The US Air Force (USAF) in 2014 continued efforts to protect its three main modernisation efforts: the

Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B), the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), and the

Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker. The only surprise move for aviation in the FY 2015 budget request was thePentagon asking Congress for USD1 billion for continued variable-cycle engine technology development.

To fully fund all these efforts, the USAF plans to reduce tactical air squadron numbers, including the entire

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II close-air support fleet. However, this retirement proposal has

encountered staunch opposition in the US Congress and the battle will likely continue when a newly

elected Republican majority takes its seats in January.

The USAF wants to divest legacy aircraft such as the A-10 in favour of more survivable aircraft in the next

five years. (Jamie Hunter)

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The fleet retirement issue is expected to become a larger one across the services as parochial interests in

Congress, and within the services, come up against budget realities and ageing fleets. Aviation leaders have

expressed concern that the military could be left with a 'hollow force' of too many types that it cannot

afford to keep current or fly as frequently as needed if they are barred from retiring them.

Meanwhile, US aviation replacement programmes have encountered difficulties. In June an engine defect

caused an F-35A test aircraft to catch fire upon take-off at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The entire JSF

fleet was grounded, meaning that the USMC's F-35B failed to make a planned appearance at the

Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom in July. Engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney (P&W) agreed


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The USAF's X-37B OTV landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base on 17 October. The spacecraft conducted on-

orbit experiments for 674 days. (Boeing)

1565653

Sea

Under continued budgetary pressures the USN in its FY 2015 budget proposal revealed a willingness to takean axe to operational forces and some of its prized programmes.

Along with the proposition to sideline half of its Ticonderoga-class cruiser fleet and cap the Littoral Combat

Ship (LCS) acquisition plans at 32 while planners examined 'small surface combatant' alternatives, the navy

floated the forced option of retiring prematurely a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and

standing down its associated carrier air wing.

Should sequestration return in FY 2016 the navy would seek to decommission USS George Washington

(CVN 73) early to save USD6 billion rather than fund its mid-life refuelling and complex overhaul (RCOH): a

four-year process that would update the carrier to see it to the end of its intended service life.

In the FY 2015 budget proposal the navy included funds to de-fuel the carrier in preparation for either early

retirement or RCOH while deferring to the FY 2016 budget process the decision that would seal the

carrier's fate. Retiring George Washingtonearly would require action from the Congress, as the USN must

legally maintain an 11-carrier fleet.


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Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) leads US and Japanese ships during tactical

manoeuvre training in the Philippine Sea on 28 November 2013. As 2105 dawns the fate of this carrier is far

from certain. (US Navy)

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Despite the fiscal climate, several naval shipbuilding programmes achieved major milestones in 2014. In

October the navy commissioned the first of two new amphibious assault ships optimised for aviation: USS

America(LHA 6) was placed into service in San Francisco, California, after completing its maiden transit

around South America. The navy also commissioned its first Block III Virginia-class attack submarine, USS

North Dakota(SSN 784). The lead boat boasts a redesigned bow in addition to the new 87-inch diameter

Virginia Payload Tube. Its delivery was on schedule and below costs, despite its commissioning having been

delayed by several months because of rework on defective vendor-assembled and -delivered components.

In the first half of the year the navy received increased demand on its forces to support NATO efforts in the

Mediterranean and Black Sea in the wake of Russia's incursion into Ukraine. USN ships also played key role

in the Gulf and Middle East region as the United States and allied forces launched airstrikes against the

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.


Canada

In late November Canada's Harper government launched military strikes against the Islamic State forces in

Iraq. Surprisingly, as with previous attacks on Libya, conducted as part of the NATO mission there, the acts

of war took place amid continued cuts in defence readiness.


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According to Public Accounts of Canada documents obtained by local agency Canadian Press, annual

spending on equipment, weapon systems and procurement in 2013-14 fell by nearly CAD1 billion (USD880

million) since its peak in 2010-11. Ironically, the notionally defence-friendly Conservatives began their

tenure in power, which began in 2006, on a promising note.

As part of a 'Canada First' Defence Strategy, the government announced the intention to buy tens of

billions of dollars worth of major land, sea, and air equipment over the coming decade. Although

technically this strategy remains intact, few, if any, of those major procurements have materialised.

Delays, reconfiguring, and outright cuts have reached a point that Andrew Leslie, a former chief of Land

Staff, recently told a Liberal convention that the Conservatives had "the worst record" on military

procurement of any government in the last 50 years and that they are unable to "even buy a fleet of trucks

painted green".

The Harper government's most glaring problems relate to its plans to acquire 65 F-35s from Lockheed

Martin. Joining the other early JSF adopters would give local contractors lucrative opportunities, the

government had claimed, but estimates of the programme's cost - which was already slated to the largest

in Canadian military history - ballooned, eventually rising fourfold.

This forced the Harper government, which had skirted elementary procurement procedure by awarding

the contract without soliciting competitive bids, to announce a review of its policy.

Adding further uncertainty to the mix, late last month a Department of National Defence official told

reporters that funds will be made available to extend use of the country's existing 77 Boeing CF-18 Hornet

fighters by five years to 2025. The hope appears to be to postpone a decision on JSF until after the coming

election, scheduled to occur next year.

Meanwhile, things are going slightly better for Canada on the naval front. In 2011 the Harper government

announced the selection of shipyards on Canada's east and west coasts to build up the country's navalcapabilities as part of its National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. Irving Shipbuilding Inc was chosen to

build the CAD25 billion combat vessel portion, including Arctic patrol ships and a new fleet of surface

combatants. Seaspan Marine Corp was chosen to build CAD8 billion worth of non-combat craft, notably

support ships and science vessels. These contracts included hundreds of millions of dollars for Irving and

Seaspan to upgrade their yards, both of whom have made substantial progress. Earlier this month Seaspan

announced the completion of a CAD170 million modernisation of its Vancouver Shipyard facilities.

However, in recent months the Harper government's decision to commit Canada to the multi-decade effort

is starting to look suspect as well. True, that decision, which took place at time when arguably Canada's

largest yard (the facilities just south of Quebec City currently owned by Davie Yards Inc) was inrestructuring, looked good at the time.


Latin America

The Latin American region was devoid of interstate conflict during 2014, which means that there are few

triggers for large-scale conventional procurement in 2015. Nonetheless, the region remains relatively

violent due to a large number of criminal groups that traffic in humans, drugs, weapons, and othercontraband throughout the hemisphere.


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t d k b l t IHS d it ffili t d d b idi i ll i ht d

An artist's representation of the Sikorsky S-92 in Presidential Helicopter colours. United Technologies'

Sikorsky Aircraft unit in May received a USD1.24 billion Pentagon contract for a fleet of 21 helicopters to

transport the president and other senior US officials. (United Technologies)

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Copyright IHS Global Limited, 2014

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