WASHINGTON - DEFENCE Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday the United States was going 'to reassess all weapon programmes' as the new administration signaled its hopes of making budget savings.

Mr Gates said that his department was carrying out a detailed review of the proposed defence budget for fiscal 2010 that would include a close look at weapons projects plagued by problems.

'This process includes efforts to realise cost efficiencies, reassess all weapons programmes especially those with serious execution issues, and re-balance investments between current and future capabilities,' Mr Gates told a news conference.

He spoke after President Barack Obama unveiled a US$663.7 billion (S$1 trillion) defence budget, up a modest 1.5 per cent on 2009. The budget request included a rough forecast that spending on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would decline sharply in the coming years.

The administration has said it hopes to save through a planned withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and from cuts in sophisticated weapons programmes - though Mr Obama's budget did not specify what new weaponry might be scrapped.

Mr Gates has warned repeatedly that costly weapons programmes suffering from delays and cost overruns would targets for possible deep cuts. -- AFP