U.S. Army Transformation Plan Faces Controversy One Year After Implementation

According to a report by Reference News Network on May 23, the U.S. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth ordered the Army to initiate a series of transformation tasks a year ago, including phasing out old vehicles and aircraft and shifting towards unmanned systems. However, this Army transformation plan is now in an uncertain situation.

Hegseth stated that he is re-evaluating this transformation plan but refused to disclose specific details, which has left many lawmakers quite dissatisfied. They urgently need a detailed roadmap and timeline to decide whether to provide funding for related projects.

Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, recently expressed to the Army Secretary and acting Chief of Staff during a committee hearing: “We want to see a concrete plan that outlines how the Army intends to advance modernization, where the funding will go, specific investment areas, what risks the readiness capabilities will bear, and what impact this plan will have on the defense industrial base.”

Three days prior to this statement, Hegseth had acknowledged that the Army transformation plan may need adjustments.

Lawmakers are particularly concerned that the Army's plan to reduce aircraft procurement could severely impact the defense production lines and supply chains. Even if procurement is restarted in the next year or two, the related industrial chain may not be able to quickly restore production capacity.

A U.S. military official stated: “No one is saying we no longer need the CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Black Hawk, or AH-64 Apache helicopters; we do need to modernize these models. However, from the perspective of force structure, the existing equipment is fully capable of meeting combat operational needs.”

The official also mentioned that senior leaders of the military branches have received directives to tighten spending, which has forced them to make funding trade-offs, redirecting funds originally intended for helicopter procurement to replenish ammunition stocks, as well as to procure drones, new weapons, and cyber warfare equipment.

This approach seems to contradict Hegseth's testimony to Congress on the 13th, where he announced a desire to restore funding for the Air Force E-7 Wedgetail early warning aircraft program—funding for which was not included in the Pentagon's initial budget request for fiscal year 2027.

A U.S. official revealed that the Army had originally set the transformation plan as a dynamic document, but the Office of the Secretary of Defense has yet to engage with the Army on any modification discussions.

The “Defense One” website had inquired with the Pentagon to verify which aspects of the transformation plan Hegseth intends to reconsider and whether his office has communicated with the Army on related matters, but received no direct response.

Officials then cited the Defense Secretary's remarks from the 13th, when Connecticut Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro questioned the Army's proposal to cut helicopter procurement. DeLauro's district is home to Sikorsky, the manufacturer of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

Hegseth responded at that time: “There are many reasonable and feasible measures in the Army transformation plan, but there are also some aspects that urgently need to be re-evaluated. We will conduct a special review and provide further responses to all parties.”

His tone in this statement was calm and gentle, a departure from his usual hardline style when responding to inquiries from lawmakers, especially those from the Democratic Party.

Although many of the initiatives in the Army transformation plan were already established directions that the Army had been pursuing for several years, the plan was formally issued by Hegseth in an April memorandum last year, and since then he has been fully in charge of its implementation. Once the plan was unveiled, it faced numerous questions from lawmakers during last year's Army budget hearings.

As of now, many questions remain unresolved. This month, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and acting Chief of Staff Christopher Lanham are actively communicating and coordinating with various military committees and appropriations committees. (Translated by Xu Yanhong)