Gates presses for more 50 unmanned Predators

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday outlined plans to “profoundly reform” US military spending, urging a scaling back of major weapons programs while boosting funds for counter-insurgency warfare.

Gates said he was proposing halting production of F-22 fighter jets, canceling a new presidential helicopter and delaying ship building plans, while bolstering funding for surveillance drones and other resources for campaigns against insurgents like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In hardware, the plan calls for more unmanned Predator drone aircraft, which have been increasingly used under the Obama administration to strike at terrorist camps in the remote Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions.

“If approved, these recommendations will profoundly reform how this department does business,” Gates told a news conference.

The defense secretary said he had tried to balance the need to combat immediate threats posed by insurgents linked to terror networks, with more traditional threats associated with conventional warfare.

“Collectively, they (the recommendations) represent a budget crafted to reshape the priorities of America’s defense establishment,” he said.

The budget was designed to help “fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years to come,” said Gates, whose proposals will likely face stiff opposition from some members of Congress.

In an unusual step, Gates said he briefed lawmakers about his recommendations before making his proposals public.

“The president agreed to this unorthodox approach … because of the scope and significance of the changes,” he said.

The move suggested Gates and President Barack Obama were bracing for a political battle with lawmakers and influential defense industry contractors, who have often rebuffed past attempts to slash mammoth weapons projects.

The Pentagon chief said he recommended ending production for the F-22 Raptors, saying there was no need to greatly expand the aircraft fleet beyond the already approved production of 187.