Congress Looks to Give Navy, Marines More Fighter Aircraft

摘要

Despite budget constraints, hawkish lawmakers appear poised to give the Navy and Marine Corps what service officials desire most: More advanced fighter jets to boost aviation assets and make up for shortfalls in the services' existing inventories. The House Armed Services Committee was the first congressional defense panel to take a crack at the fiscal 2016 budget proposal, approving a defense authorization bill in late April that adds 12 more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for the Navy and six more F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter jets for the Marine Corps than the Pentagon requested. The panel, whose bill establishes Pentagon policy and prescribes spending levels, typically sets the tone as well as the priorities for congressional debate on the Defense Department's budget.