Aviation Calendar 2009
Senior Pentagon officials are eyeing cuts to an Air Force-proposed increase of MQ-9 Reaper purchases by 34 aircraft, one-third the total buy, in fiscal year 2010, a decision DOD believes will not impact the service’s plans to stand up 50 combat air patrols over Iraq and Afghanistan by 2011, Inside the Air Force has learned.
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Aviation Calendar 2009
The Air Force told the Pentagon’s No. 2 official that it does not know how many F-22A Raptors it ultimately needs to round out its fleet of premier fifth-generation combat fighters, according to the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer.
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A USAF F-22 Raptor jet fighter soars over historic Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia.
“To avoid unnecessary taxpayer spending, Defense Department officialsare only partially funding the expansion of F-22 Raptor aircraft production, leaving the decision for further expansion to the incoming presidential administration,” writes Sara Moore in a 21 November AFPS article.
She continues:
John J. Young Jr., the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told members of the air and land forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee in a Nov. 19 hearing that he has approved $50 million for advance procurement for four F-22s.
DOD officials will include the purchase of these four aircraft in the second fiscal 2009 supplemental budget request, he said.
The decision on whether to use the rest of the $140 million allocated in the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act for advance procurement for up to 16 more F-22s will be up to the President-elect Barack Obama administration in January, Mr. Young said. Procurement of the four F-22s provides a bridge to give the new administration every option with the program.
“The department is acting responsibly, consistent with (Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’) commitment and congressional direction, seeking to ensure that each tax dollar is used carefully and efficiently,” he said.
DOD officials are delaying the advance procurement on the remaining 16 aircraft to save taxpayer money should the President-elect Obama administration decide not to purchase the aircraft, Mr. Young said. However, he acknowledged, if the new administration delays its decision on the F-22s past January, it could face higher costs from the manufacturers.
The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes advance procurement for the F-22s until March, and if the decision on the remaining aircraft doesn’t come until then, there is a very real chance the cost for the planes could go up, Mr. Young said. However, he cautioned that the estimates for those higher prices are based on industry estimates that haven’t been negotiated.
“I’m not ignoring the industry estimates, but I’m also not granting them credibility, and so … if we do nothing until March, I could face — and that’s what I was told by industry — a cost, which I would seek to negotiate away on behalf of the government,” Mr. Young said.
Countering committee members’ claims that he was acting in defiance of Congress by not funding all 20 aircraft, Mr. Young said the law doesn’t require him to buy the planes all at once, and his goal is to save the taxpayers money.
“Can I buy that advance procurement as four plus 16, instead of 20, and impose no additional cost on the taxpayer and preserve the total flexibility and option of the next administration to come and discuss with the Congress whether they want to buy the airplanes behind the advance procurement? And that is the option, having convinced myself that that is possible, we sought to execute,” he said.
DOD officials have done a legitimate analysis of the F-22 program, and though some Air Force officials may disagree, Secretary Gates said he believes the department is on its way to the right mix of aircraft, Mr. Young said.
“From Secretary Gates down, there has been a hard look at that analysis and a view that it is a higher priority to do other things in the Defense Department than buy additional F-22s at this time,” he said.
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After some delay, Pentagon weapons czar John Young last week freed up part of the funding that Congress allocated in the FY 2009 defense budget to keep the F-22 production line going through early next year.
A DoD press release issued 12 November states Young authorized USAF “to take steps to spend up to $50 million for advanced procurement associated with four F-22 aircraft” beyond the 183 aircraft already under contract. (According to Air Force Magazine, these four F-22s apparently correspond to the four Raptors that OSD intends to request in the next war supplemental to replace F-16s lost since 9/11 in the war on terror.)
According to the release, Young wrote: “In January, the next Administration can decide to obligate additional advanced procurement funds, up to the Congressional $140 million ceiling, to support up to 20 F-22 aircraft.” Young stated that, based on industry input, advance procurement of four aircraft now, coupled with additional advance procurement in January, “will bridge the F-22 line with little or no additional cost.”
Significantly, OSD did not request funds to buy more Raptors beyond 183 in the Pentagon’s Fiscal 2009 budget request. However — as Air Force Magazine points out — the Fiscal 2009 defense authorization act includes $523 million added by Congress to procure materials and long-lead-time parts for an additional lot of 20 F-22s beyond 183. But the lawmakers stipulated that only $140 million of that amount could be used until the new Administration makes a production decision.
Air Force Magazine quotes Air Force Secretary Michael Donley as saying he anticipates that there will be a contract “soon,” based on OSD’s announcement. He said the money for the full purchase of the four F-22s will be in the war supplemental.
Senior House lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on Defense Department officials to release congressionally approved funding for an Air Force fighter that has been the subject of a running battle between Pentagon and Air Force leaders.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has said he wants the F-22 Raptor’s fate decided by the next presidential administration, senior House Armed Services Committee lawmakers demanded an explanation for why $140 million already set aside for the plane’s suppliers is being held up.
The money would go toward keeping the plane’s production line ready for new orders beyond the current plans calling for 183 of the jets to be built. The situation pits lawmakers against Pentagon officials Read the entire article at the Wall street Journal
Budget Crunch Forces U.S. Military to Choose Which Form of Defense to Pursue; This-War-Itis vs. Next-War-Itis
Aviation Calendar 2009
For years, the military has been roiled by a heated internal debate over what kind of wars it should prepare to fight.
One faction, led by a host of senior officers, favors buying state-of-the-art weapons systems that would be useful in a traditional conflict with a nation like Russia or China. The other side, which includes Defense Secretary Robert Gates, believes the military should prepare for grinding insurgencies that closely resemble the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The dispute has long been largely academic, since the soaring defense budgets in the years since the September 2001 terror attacks left plenty of money for each side’s main priorities.
That is beginning to change, a casualty of the widening global financial crisis.
Aviation Calendar 2009
The US Air Force’s aircraft have been flying, on average, for 24 years, representing the oldest fleet in the service’s 61-year history. This leads to degraded performance, increased accident risk, and huge increases in maintenance costs — money which would be better spent on new equipment and ordnance.
USAF needs to procure 200 new aircraft every year in order to rejuvenate its fleet, says General Norton Schwartz, the new Air Force Chief of Staff. This is almost twice as many planes as USAF currently buys.
Aviation Calendar 2009
Air Force Association President Michael Dunn has presented some frightening statistics. According to his calculations:
First, the AF is procuring 750 aircraft over the six year period of the FYDP. That equates to 125 aircraft per year. At that rate it will take about 46 years to replace every aircraft in the inventory. This means that – unless something changes – the average age of our aircraft will rise to 46 years.
Secondly, about 270 of the aircraft are UAVs … and arguably are not replacing other aircraft in the inventory. That leaves about 80 aircraft per year – which equates to a replacement rate of 72 years.
Thirdly, you say not all aircraft need to be replaced. OK – let’s assume the Air Force is only going to replace about two-thirds of its aircraft. That means it will take 50 years to replace them all.
Finally, the reason the number is so high for 2008 is the war time supplemental bill. DOD has indicated that it no longer wants to submit a supplemental funding bill … which would, if put in place this year, have resulted in only 93 aircraft being procured – 52 of which were UAVs. This results in a replacement rate of 141 years.
Read the facts and figures on USAF aircraft procurement plans in a PDF file by clicking here: http://www.afa.org/EdOp/Aircraft_Procurement.pdf .
Former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne has reversed his position and now advocates a 50-50 split of the KC-45 aerial refueling aircraft contract between rivals Boeing and Northrop Grumman / EADS. While it will cost more, it seems the only way to avoid a long legal struggle over the contract, which would stretch out procurement of the much needed KC-45 tanker, formerly known as the KC-X.
Get this aerial refueling picture and many others on posters, framed art prints, and greeting cards at The PatriArt Gallery.
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