Page 18 - 2018 Defense White Paper

through strength.” The 2019 NDAA authorizes a comprehensive range of military increases—

the USD 17 billion year-on-year increase in defense budget, which reaches USD 717 billion
and represents about 3.1% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP); the addition of 24,100
active-duty personnel; the strengthening of readiness posture; measures against new threats;

modernization plans for each military department; and support for allies and partners.
The U.S. Army plans to increase the current personnel end strength of 476,000 by 11,500
and bolster its force by procuring approximately 3,000 tactical vehicles and 200 multipurpose

armored vehicles. Moreover, the Army Future Command (AFC) was established in June 2018
under the U.S. Department of the Army to lead the modernization of the military. The U.S.
Navy will expand its end strength by 8,600 from the current 512,000, and has approved force

buildup projects to procure 2 nuclear submarines, 1 aircraft carrier, and 3 destroyers. The U.S.
Air Force will add 4,000 to the current 325,000 active-duty end strength and focus on force
buildup using the existing acquisition and performance improvement budget for f ighters, aerial
refueling tankers, and transport aircraft. In addition, it is in the process of reinforcing the

ground attack and electronic warfare capabilities of the F-22, and developing a Long-Range
Strike Bomber (LRS-B) to replace the B-2 and the B-52.

Meanwhile, the 2019 NDAA limits the drastic reduction of the United States Forces Korea
(USFK) by requiring the U.S. Secretary of Defense to certify to Congress the reason for reduction
when he intends to cut the number below 22,000. At the ROK–U.S. Defense Ministerial Meeting
in June 2018, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis emphasized that the current size of the

USFK, will remain unchanged and that the United States will maintain its commitment to
defend the Republic of Korea (ROK) using all ranges of diplomatic and military capabilities.
The United States has continued efforts to strengthen its security posture in space and

cyberspace. In August 2017, the U.S. Cyber Command was elevated to an integrated command
with an independent command system. In August 2018, the United States made an official
announcement to create a Space Force to ef fectively respond to challenges in the domain of

space. The United States strives to maintain its relative superiority in newly emerging security
domains.

| China | China has been modernizing its military and building a highly ef f icient joint
th
operations command system. In his work report at the 19 Party Congress, President Xi
Jinping proposed a road map for achieving mechanization and making major progress toward

16 Chapter 1 Changes and Challenges in the Security Environment