U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus believes budget appropriators should look at eliminating bureaucracy and overhead costs at the Defense Department rather than slashing needed defense equipment, National Defense Magazine reported Tuesday.
Allyson Versprille writes that Mabus, who spoke at a recent American Enterprise Institute event, sees spending at some agencies as either redundant or inefficient.
The secretary noted that some expense areas at the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Finance and Accounting Services and the “Fourth Estate” should be reviewed to identify duplicate functions.
Megan Eckstein and Sam LaGrone report on USNI News that Mabus also pointed to the Navy’s next programs, particularly the continued testing of the X-47B Unmanned Carrier Air Vehicle demonstrator amid delays in the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike program.
Mabus indicated that an ongoing review of the UCLASS intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements has hindered the release of the request for proposals.
“One of the reasons we’d like to go ahead and get the RFP out is that we’d like to find out what’s available out there in industry,” he said.
Eckstein and LaGrone write that Mabus has also highlighted the importance of continuing X-47B testing without giving advantage to manufacturer Northrop Grumman for the future UCLASS program.
