U.S. Defense Budget Plan Cancels Programs, Cuts Thousands of Jobs [Reuters]

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Global Hawk. Credit: U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Matthews Enlarge Image

A budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Defense would slash about $260 billion in spending through 2017, with thousands of military and civilian jobs eliminated over that period, Reuters reports.

The specifics of the plan will not be available until February, when President Barack Obama releases his budget, but Reuters said some details have begun to emerge from sources familiar with the discussions.

The proposal would terminate or scale back spending on dozens of weapons programs, including the Air Force’s high-altitude Global Hawk unmanned surveillance plane from Northrop Grumman Corp. However, the report said the Air Force would get three more orders for Lockheed Martin Corp. satellites (two for communications and one for missile warning).

The Army would keep the handheld version of its Joint Tactical Radio System though the software-based radio for ground vehicles is expected to be canceled, Reuters said.

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