The Global Hawk unmanned aerial surveillance drone could get a reprieve from the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

A powerful U.S. House defense spending panel has recommended adding more than $5.3 billion to the Pentagon’s procurement accounts in 2013 to buy more aircraft, ships, vehicles and weapons, according to a report quoted in Defense News.

The chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), announced a version of the 2013 defense appropriations bill last week that is $3.1 billion higher than the Pentagon’s $642 billion overall spending request.

According to Defense News, the subcommittee's report instructs the military not to proceed with its plan to retire the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and adds dozens of big-ticket purchases, including:

21 helicopters



A Navy destroyer



PAC-3 missiles and launcher systems



Two tanker transports and five cargo haulers



$1 billion in equipment for the National Guard and Reserve

Also included is added $50 million for procurement and installation of a backup oxygen system on the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor, which has been mandated by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta after several pilots experienced hypoxia-like symptoms while flying the aircraft.

Source: Defense News