[Satellite TODAY 01-10-11] U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to cut $553 billion from the Pentagon’s 2012 budget includes measures that could benefit unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturers in the United States, according to a U.S. Department of Defense statement released Jan. 7.
    The plan includes a five-year military cost-cutting plan that will divert about $70 billion back into new purchases in the next five years.
    The Air Force said it would buy more Reaper drones made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and increase purchase orders for Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. The Navy also said it would begin development of a seaborne unmanned strike and surveillance plane and invest in a new generation of electronic radar jammers.
   More details of the plan would be revealed as the budget works its way through Congress, the Pentagon said.