America's Defence Secretary has announced cuts of $US78 billion in the military budget - the biggest spending reductions since the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001.
Robert Gates says the cuts will help bring the country's dire financial situation under control.
The cuts over the next five years are in addition to $US100 billion in internal savings already announced. Those savings will be redirected to other defence programmes, but the new cuts slow growth in the overall budget.
Cuts to weapons programmes are certain to encounter fierce opposition from members of the US Congress, the BBC reports.
Much of the roughly $178 billion in defence cuts will come through reduced administrative costs, new organisational efficiencies and slashed personnel costs, which the defence department called a "vigorous scrub of bureaucratic structures".
Mr Gates said much of the savings would be achieved by eliminating more than 100 general and flag officer positions, more than 200 top civilian defence positions, by cancelling redundant programmes and through reduced administrative costs.
As much as $US100 billion in savings would not be sliced from the overall budget, Mr Gates said, but would be reinvested in shipbuilding, missile defence, intelligence, reconnaissance, healthcare for wounded soldiers and other programmes.
Among the major weapons systems set to be scrapped is the $US14 billion amphibious Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. The Pentagon will also end an Army surface-to-air missile programme.
