Army Equipment Program in Support of Presidents Budget 2016

The Army Equipment Program in support of the President's Budget 2016 (AEP PB 16) describes the Army RDA budget for key capability portfolio areas and the S&T portion of the Fiscal Year 2016 President's Budget request. The AEP PB 16 flows from the recent Army Equipment Modernization Strategy revision and the 2015 Army Equipment Program in support of the President's Budget 2015. This document delineates RDA investments into 11 capability portfolio areas, highlights the portfolio accomplishments over the last two years and provides intent for FY 2016 investments. The dollars and quantities in this document reflect President's Budget 2016. Total Army equipment modernization enters a critical funding year. This year's budget represents Total Army equipment modernization during a period where the operational and fiscal environments are straining Army efforts to balance modernization to meet current demands while building the foundations of a force that can meet future challenges. Over the past several years the Army has absorbed significant reductions in RDA accounts increasing risk to Soldiers as the velocity of instability increases around the world. When Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 levels of funding return in FY 2016 the Army will be vulnerable to delay, restructure or termination of over 80 acquisition programs, particularly large ones. Trends in threats, the operating environment, and technology highlight the enduring need for ready Army forces operating as part of joint, interorganizational, and multinational teams to prevent conflict, shape security environments, and win in a complex world. Enemies, adversaries, and individual threats make future armed conflict complex. The Army's competitive advantages in the land, air, maritime, space, and cyberspace domains are challenged by elusive and capable combatants. Advanced technologies will transfer readily to state and nonstate actors imposing costly capability gap solutions on the Total Army. The complexity of future armed conflict will require Army forces capable of conducting missions in the homeland or in foreign lands including defense support of civil authorities, international disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, security cooperation activities, crisis response, or large-scale operations to be well equipped and modernized. Army forces have long been essential to preventing conflict through the forward positioning or rotation of forces overseas. Regionally engaged Army forces are needed to build partner capability, assure allies, and deter adversaries. The Department of Defense (DoD) requires the Army, as part of the Joint Force, to deploy credible and reliable combined arms capabilities across the range of military operations. To prevent conflict, shape security environments and win wars in a complex world, Army forces will be essential for projecting national power through support for diplomatic, political, law enforcement, economic development, and other efforts.