The sea service included the cuts in its FY-08 long-term budget, which was submitted to the Office of the Secretary of Defense last month. This proposed budget is being kept under wraps because it has not been finalized. The changes are relative to the Bush administration's FY-07 long-term budget, which looks ahead five years and was submitted to Congress in February.

The aviation cuts come at a time when Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen has stressed the need to shore up and stabilize investment in the service's shipbuilding accounts. As Inside the Navy first reported, the service's FY-08 long-term budget proposal largely maintains stable investment in shipbuilding, though it makes some changes.

In FY-08, the plan would buy zero Joint Strike Fighters (instead of eight), 42 Super Hornets (including EA-18G Growler electronic jamming aircraft), 21 Marine Corps V-22 Ospreys (instead of 19), 15 Marine Corps H-1 helicopters (instead of 19), 18 MH-60S helicopters (instead of 20), 27 MH-60R helicopters (instead of 25), three E-2D aircraft (instead of four), four KC-130J aircraft, 44 T-6A/B aircraft (instead of 48), three VH-71 presidential helicopters (built with research and development funds), and three MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned drones (instead of seven).

Over a six-year period, the proposed budget would buy 91 Marine Corps short-takeoff-and-landing JSFs compared with the previously planned 126 as well as 45 Navy carrier-variant JSFs compared with the previously planned 66, said the source.

For the Super Hornet program, including the EA-18G variant, the plan would buy 42 aircraft annually for several years before tapering off, the source said. The Navy added Super Hornets to the budget to compensate for cuts to the JSF procurement plans, according to internal documents.

The department plans to buy 21 Marine Corps V-22 Ospreys in FY-08, followed by 30 annually from FY-09 to FY-13, as first reported by InsideDefense.com . That is a reduction of 25 Marine Corps V-22s over the six-year plan.

For the Marine Corps' H-1 helicopter program, which produces both attack helicopters and utility aircraft, the department plans to buy 15 aircraft in FY-08, 20 in FY-09 and 24 annually in the outyears, said the source. The H-1 program is scheduled to go before the Pentagon's Defense Acquisition Board for another review this fall.

The plan would curtail procurement of the Marine Corps' CH-53K helicopter, slashing five aircraft over the coming years and leaving six in FY-13.

Production plans for the Navy's MH-60S helicopter program have been capped at 18 aircraft annually. Previous plans called for buying 20 of these aircraft in FY-08, 26 annually from FY-09 to FY-11 and 18 annually thereafter.

The long-term plan would buy only 39 MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned drones, instead of 72. Also, the plan would buy only 37 P-8A aircraft, instead of 44; and 21 E-2D Hawkeye aircraft, instead of 27.

Some details of the plan were published last week by Bloomberg News.