| North Korea, Iran and China, whose rapid military modernization has prompted US worries about its intentions.
"Recognizing that threats to US security exist beyond the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States must increase the strength and capabilities of its forces, maintain a high state of readiness and support, and continue strategic modernization," the Pentagon said.
The proposal would boost procurement spending by more than $20 billion to buy fighter aircraft, electronic warfare planes, unmanned aircraft, an aircraft carrier, destroyers, and littoral combat ships.
Overall procurement spending for 2008 would total $107.8 billlion, according to Pentagon projections.
It would provide 14.4 billion dollars for shipbuilding, up $3.2 billion; $27 billion for aircraft, up $4.1 billion; and $3.7 billion for the army's next generation of networked ground combat vehicles.
The proposed operations and maintenance budget would go up by $15.5 billion to $164.7 billion, much of it for training land forces, air crews and to keep US warships at sea longer. | 
