May 13, 2009: The U.S. Army is buying $7 billion worth of aircraft (including base construction and maintenance costs) next year. This will include 54 UH-72A Light Utility Helicopters, eight AH-64 helicopter gunships, 39 CH-47 heavy transport helicopters, 83 UH-60 medium transport helicopters and 704 RQ-11 micro (under five pound) Raven UAVs.

The army will spend $10.2 billion on ground vehicles. This includes $5.1 million each for 1,080 lighter MRAP vehicles (more suitable for the rough terrain and poor roads in Afghanistan), $166,000 each for 10,268 hummers, plus $3 billion worth of heavy trucks and armored vehicles.

The MRAPs and hummers are so expensive because they are equipped with a lot of electronics and, in the case of the hummers, lightweight armor.