WASHINGTON. Feb 1; The Pentagon today unveiled 268.2-billion-dollar budget proposal for fiscal 2000, billing it as the first substantia) increase in military spending since J 985. reports AFP.

The Pentagon's six-year budget plan calls for stepped-up spending on a national missile defence system, the biggest pay hike for service members in 18 years and more money to buy expensive new aircraft and other weapons.

"Although US forces continue to accomplish their missions splendidly, there are warning signs of potential problems." US Defence Secretary William Cohen said.

"Recruiting arid retention arc increasingly difficult, readiness harder to maintain and weapons modernisation tougher to fund sufficiently this budget will address these warnings."

The Pentagon calculated the proposed increase at 12.6 billion dollars in the year 2000 over its previous spending projections.

But if congress were to approve the proposed budget, the military budget authority would actually increase by only 5.6 billion dollars next year over fiscal 1999, according to the Pentagon's figures outlays would fall from 263.6 billion dollars to 260.8 billion dollars.

The entire defence budget comes to 280.8 billion dollars, which also includes spending by the Department of Energy, which is responsible for the US nuclear weapons arsenal.

The Pentagon's blueprint calls for a 112-billion-dollar increase in spending including 6,6. billion dollars to develop and deploy an antiffnisslle system able to defend the United States against a limited ballistic missile attack.

The commitment of funds to deploy such a system reflects growing US concern that North Korea or another rouge state may be just a couple of years away from being able to hit the United States with an intercon-

tinental missile.

The budget also includes 1.8 billion dollars for US peacekeeping operations in. Bosnia and another 1.1 billion dollars for US operations in the Gulf.

Overall spending on weapons procurement was upped to 53 billion dollars in 2000 from 49 billion dollars in 1999.

The Pentagon has said procurement spending needs to climb to 60 billion dollars a year to pay for a wave of expensive new aircraft and warships needed to modernise the US arsenal, that goal will be met at the beginning of 2001.

In fiscal 2000. the Pentagon proposes buying six of the Air Force s new F-22 Raptor, a replacement for the F-15E Fighter that is still in testing, they will cost 1.85 billion dollars.

The Navy would acquire" 36

F-A-18E/F Super Hornets for 3.2 billion dollars under the proposed budget for fiscal 2000.

Over six years, increased military spending provides for construction of eight new warships a year, a level that Pentagon officials said was sufficient to maintain a 300-ship Navy.

More than 28 billion dollars are being budgeted over the next six years for pay raises and improvements in retirement benefits to halt a drain of skilled military personnel to higher paying jobs in the private sector.

The Pentagon is proposing a 4.4-per cent pay raise for troops — that largest since 1982 — with additional targeted merit increases of 5.5 per cent, Republicans in Congress are calling for an evert higher pay hike of 4.8 per cent.