U.S. Sees Weapons Growth Above Inflation Through 2016

The U.S. Defense Department’s five-year weapons-buying budget, while lower than the military planned last year, still results in annual, inflation-adjusted growth of about 2.6 percent, according to an analyst.

Weapons procurement would increase to $137.2 billion in fiscal 2016, up from $113 billion in President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2012 budget released on Feb. 14, according to previously unreleased Pentagon figures provided to Bloomberg News.