Here's a quick summary of some of the defense budget announcements made this afternoon by Defense Secretary Gates:

Major cuts

-- F-22 Raptor: eliminated; buys will stop at 187 copies, the last 4 of which are being built now.

-- VH-71 (the presidential helicopters, aka "Marine One's"): Eliminated, but noted a new helicopter is needed, will develop requirements for FY11.
-- CSAR-X: will terminate the Air Force's combat search and rescue helicopter program.
-- TSAT: eliminate the Transformation Satellite program; purchase two advance alternates.
-- Airborne Laser (ABL) program: second aircraft cancelled
-- Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV): terminated
-- Future Combat Systems (FCS): continue roll-outs to combat brigades; eliminate vehicle design component and re-launch as separate Army vehicle modernization program.
-- Missile Defense: $1.4 billion reduction overall; $700 million increase for High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Standard Missile 3 (SM3); $200 million increase for Aegis ships.

Increases and modifications

-- F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: increasing from $6.8 billion to $11.2 billion to buy 513 aircraft over 5-years with a fleet goal of 2,443 copies of aircraft.
-- FA-18: will buy 31 aircraft in FY2010
-- Air Force Tankers: maintain the KC-X schedule.
-- DDG-1000 Destroyer: buy three and restart DDG-51 Aegis Destroyer
-- C-17: complete current production and hold at 205 copies.
-- Helicopters: $500 million increase, focused on Army recruiting and training
-- Cyber-defense: triple training capacity by 2011.
-- Littoral Combat Ship (LCS): from 2 to 3 ships in FY2010, with end goal of 55 ships.
-- Navy aircraft carriers: shift production to a 5-year schedule; 10 carriers after 2040.
-- Nuclear: begin replacing Ohio-class subs in FY10; no new Air Force bomber; more to come following later Post-START treaty negotiations.
-- Foreign military training, equipment: $500 million increase
-- ISR (intel, surveillance, recon) support - $2 billion increase, including 50 new Predator-class unmanned aerial vehicles.
-- End strength: $11 billion increase to grow the Army and Marines and halt the downsizing of the Navy and Air Force.
-- Brigade Combat Teams: Halt the number of BCTs at 45, not 48.
-- Medical R&D: $400 million increase
-- Wounded treatment and care: $300 million increase
-- Total DOD healthcare: $47 billion increase
-- Acquisition workforce: convert 11,000 defense contractors into government employees; hire 9,000 additional acquisition professionals, starting with 4,100 in FY2010;
-- Support service contractors: reduce the number from 39% of the workforce to the pre-2001 level of 26%, and replace them with full-time government employees.