The Senate Armed Services Committee has joined its House counterpart in pushing for the continuation of the A-10 aircraft by allotting $320 million to fund the program through fiscal year 2015, Defense News reported Thursday.Brian Everstine writes the amount was reallocated from savings after military personnel cuts but the committee does not believe the move blocks the U.S. Air Force from retiring the A-10.
“We just didn’t make a decision. We don’t require nor do we prohibit,” said Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).
According to Levin, the Senate Armed Services Committee worked with the Government Accountability Office to pinpoint potential savings from the reduction in military personnel.
The House Armed Services Committee has approved a markup of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act that keeps the A-10 program as well as the U-2 aircraft by reallocating $635 million from contingency operations abroad.
The Senate counterpart also shifted budget from another program, the Global Hawk unmanned plane, to retain the U-2 fleet, Everstine reports.
