Hill panel settles on DOD funding

Congressional negotiators last week agreed to recommend $355.1 billion in new discretionary spending for the Defense Department for fiscal 2003, with a focus on improving DOD's ability to collect, share and analyze information.

Negotiators reached agreement Oct. 9 and received House approval Oct. 10. The budget includes funding for many command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs, such as:

* $251 million for the Army's Future Combat System, in which networked information and communications systems will give a competitive edge to soldiers in the field and commanders in the control room.

* $131 million, $26 million above the budget request, for 22 Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that use radar, a TV camera and an infrared camera for surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting.

* $129 million to buy three Global Hawk UAVs and $42 million to accelerate development of a Navy variant, the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance system.

* A 17 percent increase from last year's funding for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.