In Geopolitics Today - Monday, May 31st
Pentagon requests $715B for 2022, Joint US-UK training underway aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth, and Mali's military releases civilian government.
Biden Administration Releases 2022 Military Budget
The $715 billion Pentagon request for 2022 was sent to the US Congress on Friday and it represents an $11 billion increase over the previous year. A big chunk of this proposed budget is what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has called the “largest ever” request for research, development, test and evaluation funding. The White House has proposed $112 billion in that area, a 5 percent increase.
Overall, the budget request is a major push for military readiness and increased development with a firm focus on countering China — the Defense Department budget “prioritizes the need to counter the threat from China as the department’s top challenge.” The budget also proposes “executable and responsible investments” in the Navy fleet, supports “ongoing nuclear modernization programs while ensuring that these efforts are sustainable,” and “continues to ensure that US soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and guardians remain the best trained and equipped force in the world.”
Here are the main takeaways from the requested budget:
$27.7B for Nuclear Modernization, including B-21 strike bombers, ballistic missile submarines, long-range missiles.
$52.4B or Lethal Air Forces, which include 85 F-35 fighter jets, 14 KC-46 aerial tankers, CH-53K helicopters, 12 F-15EX fighter jets, and 30 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.
$34.6B for Combat Effective Naval Forces, including a new ballistic missile submarine, aircraft carrier, as well as additional submarines, warships and support vessels.
$12.3B for Combat Effective Ground Forces, including 3,799 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, 70 M-1 Abrams tank modifications and upgrades, and 92 Amphibious Combat Vehicles.
$20.6B for Space and Space-Based Systems, including 5 launch vehicles, GPS system, and infrared systems.
$10.4B for Cyberspace Activities.
$133.1 billion for force readiness.
$2.8 billion for divestments, including Army night vision imaging system, missile launcher, electronic warfare; Navy decommissioned ships and divestment of F/A-18 fighter jets, RQ-21 drones; Air Force divestment of A-10 warplanes, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, KC-135 and KC-10 tankers, C-130 transport planes, and RQ-4 drones.
Senator Jack Reed (D), Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, called the budget request “a starting point,” and went on to say that this budget request “appropriately recognizes China as the ‘pacing threat’ for our military.”
Read more about this story here.
The Anglo Arm of the Anglo-American Air Wing Prepares for the 2020s
The British Royal Navy and US Marine Corps have recently undertaken a unique joint operation involving the new flagship of the Royal Navy — HMS Queen Elizabeth. This aircraft carrier, the first of two on order, is currently undertaking its first operational cruise.
This operational cruise consists of a seven-month mission at sea where the ship will be carrying out joint exercises with allied navies starting in the Atlantic, then the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Indian Ocean, South China Sea and finally the waters off Japan and South Korea. The joint exercises will involve French and American carriers as well as numerous other ship types from all participating countries.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth is the first operational British aircraft carrier since the Ark Royal. A critical part of the plans are to train a new generation of sailors adapted to the modern battlefield, particularly as the HMS Queen Elizabeth will see the new F-35B fighter jets flying sorties from its deck.
The crew will also gain experience using the ski-jump take off system the Queen Elizabeth uses. Since the British carriers will exclusively use the F-35B, the ski jump is effective enough to enable the F-35B to take off with nearly a full load. These vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft sacrifice payload when they take off vertically which is why many of them use a ski-jump system for take-offs while using their VTOL capabilities for landing.
Read more about this story here.
Mali’s Military Releases Civilian Government
The military officer who overthrew Mali’s elected government last year, Col. Assimi Goita, has deposed the civilian president and prime minister of the transitional authority he himself helped install in the aftermath of the coup, creating a new political crisis in the West African country.
Goita, who had been serving as vice president in the interim government, declared himself president on Thursday. As part of his new role he promised to adhere to an 18-month transition to civilian rule that is scheduled to culminate in national elections in February 2022.
Regional and international leaders are unconvinced, though. The United Nations Security Council called for a restoration of the deposed transitional government, and the leaders of the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African State, dispatched a team of mediators to Mali. France, Mali’s former colonial ruler, is threatening sanctions against the perpetrators of what President Emmanuel Macron described as a “coup within a coup.”
Goita has complained that he was not consulted about the new Cabinet and accused the two leaders of trying to sabotage the transitional process. On Wednesday, Ndaw and Ouane were forced to resign their positions. They were released from military detention the following day.
The renewed political crisis has fuelled fears about regional security, as the two competing jihadi coalitions, one aligned with al-Qaida and the other with the Islamic State, could now take advantage of the power vacuum.
Read more about this story here.