Mr Gates says the US Defence Department will end the F-22 fighter jet and presidential helicopter programmes run by Lockheed Martin.

But Lockheed, the largest US defence contractor, has said almost 95,000 jobs could be at stake if the Pentagon did not buy more of the planes.

Critics of the US$65 billion program say it is sucking money from more immediate needs.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is under development, is seen by some as more versatile, realistic and cheaper, at about US$80 million per plane.

The new fleet of presidential helicopters - with a price tag of US$11 billion (S$16.5 billion) that was nearly double the original budget - also was considered at risk to be cut in the 2010 budget.

Yet some programmes would grow.

Mr Gates proposed speeding up production of the F-35 fighter jet, which could end up costing US$1 trillion to manufacture and maintain 2,443 planes.

The military would buy more speedy ships that can operate close in to land.

And more money would be spent outfitting special forces troops that can hunt down insurgents.

'It is important to remember that every defence dollar spent to over-ensure against a remote or diminishing risk - or in effect to run up the score in a capability where the United States is already dominant - is a dollar not available to take care of our people, reset the force, win the wars we are in and improve capabilities in areas where we are underinvested and potentially vulnerable,' Mr Gates said.

The Government Accountability Office reported last week that 96 of the Pentagon's biggest weapons contracts were over budget by a 'staggering' figure of US$296 billion. -- AP