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From AF Daily Report 21 May 09

The 2010 Hit List: The Air Force plan to divest itself of 254 legacy fighters in Fiscal 2010 to free up funds to upgrade the remaining fleet shows a mix of 112 F-15s, 134 F-16s, and three A-10s under the 2010 budget proposal and five F-16s previously scheduled for retirement next year. The money to be saved—about $355 million in Fiscal 2010 and another $3.5 billion over the next five fiscal years—would go toward such things as precision weapons and advanced targeting capabilities to provide "bridge capabilities" for the legacy fleet to see USAF through to a fifth-generation force, said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff, in a May 20 release announcing the Combat Air Forces restructure. In the same release, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said the service had "a strategic window of opportunity" that will enable USAF to field "a smaller, more flexible, and lethal" force, but he acknowledges that means "accepting some short-term risk." Several lawmakers have questioned whether the Air Force will now have too few fighters. However, Schwartz said service leaders had "taken this major step only after a careful assessment of the current threat environment and our current capabilities." He maintains that the CAF restructuring plan will enable USAF to sustain its advantage over potential adversaries, which he acknowledged is "eroding," until full-fielding of F-22 and F-35 fifth-generation aircraft. (Air Force 2010 fighter cut list)

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/SiteCo ... erlist.pdf

Who Made These Cuts?: Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is among lawmakers questioning why the Air Force plan to cut 254 legacy fighters has hit units in their states, but Heinrich was particularly incensed since the New Mexico Air National Guard's 150th Fighter Wing is the only one to be left with both no aircraft and no mission. During the May 19 House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Air Force budget, Heinrich declared, "What makes absolutely no sense to me is that despite being ranked the No. 1 fighter base in the country during the 2005 BRAC process, Kirtland Air Force Base, which is located in my district, is now slated to lose its entire fighter mission." In its Combat Air Forces restructure plan (see above), the Air Force listed probable outlooks for those units losing aircraft, but for Kirtland's Air Guard unit the entry reads "future mission TBD." Air Force Secretary Michael Donley responded: "We do understand that this is a difficult decision that affects many states and communities. …The reductions proposed were carefully balanced between overseas and CONUS locations and were carefully balanced between the active and the reserve, as well." Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz added: "It's important for the 150th, a good organization, as we both know, to think more broadly about what future opportunities there are for missions. Now, maybe they're manned aircraft, maybe not. Maybe they are association missions with folks already at Kirtland, like the special operations wing that's there." Schwartz said that the service would be working with the New Mexico Adjutant General and others to determine "the best fit" consistent with the needs of the Air Force. Heinrich wanted to know, however, what specific criteria had been used, considering half the unit's aircraft had gone through Falcon Star upgrades to extend their service life. Schwartz said that after "extensive analysis" of the fleet status, the service selected the Block 40 F-16s, such as those at the 150th FW, as "the ones that we should accelerate retirement."
Lest There Be Any Doubt: During a May 19 House Armed Services Committee budget hearing, several lawmakers questioned Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff, about curtailment of F-22 production at only 187 aircraft and insistence by DOD officials that those 187 aircraft met military need. In one instance, Schwartz's response was short and sweet: "Two forty-three is the right number and 187 is the affordable force."

From AF Daily Report 26 May 09

Waiting for the Plan: Lawmakers at the May 20 House Armed Services Air and Land Forces panel hearing wanted to know if there is a plan to field sufficient Air National Guard air sovereignty alert (ASA) aircraft to head off the impending shortfall should the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter schedule slip? Michael Sullivan of the Government Accountability Office, testified that the F-35 production "plan is still very aggressive, very little white space, very little room for error." Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) asserted: "The F-35 and the numbers at the prices that you have discussed today simply will not happen. It won't. And I suggest for the record that you know it and we know it and the people that sent you over here know it." Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) noted that despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggesting last week that many ANG units may fly MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles, "I won't believe that our Air Guard units can defend our nation with an aircraft that cannot operate in its own airspace." Pressed at to when the Air Force would have a plan to cover the ASA issue, Lt. Gen. Raymond Johns, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs, said the service needed to get through the Quadrennial Defense Review, so it would be around November. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) complained that at every hearing it was the same refrain, "We can't quite get an answer of what's going to happen with our Air Guard units if the F-35 slips [because] we've got a QDR coming up." Panel chairman Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) declared that a November timeframe "doesn't do us any good with this [budget] markup that we're coming into."

From AF Daily Report 26 May 09

The Last Four Raptors: The four additional F-22s that the Air Force intends to procure in Fiscal 2010 to complete its production buy at 187 will be fully combat-capable aircraft that will "flush out" operational Raptor units, Vince Lewis, chief of capabilities planning and integration in the F-22 program office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, tells the Daily Report. "They are not intended or planned for test or any other uses at this time," Lewis said in an interview last week during a visit to the Ohio base. These final four aircraft, added by Congress in the Fiscal 2009 budget, will constitute Lot 10 of the F-22's production run and are expected in the Air Force's arsenal in early 2012. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his 2010 defense budget proposal capped Raptor production at 187—four more than the 183-aircraft program of record set in 2005—however, one item to remember is that the net gain to the Raptor fleet will be three F-22s—for a fleet size of 186—since the F-22 lost in 2004 is considered part of the program of record. (For more on the F-22, read Honed to a Razor's Edge.)

Dedicated F-22 Trainers Now in Question?: Using an Air Force chart as a reference point, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) pointed out to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz that with 183 F-22s, just 126 of them would be combat coded by the end of the production line. "Would you think that's adequate?" Inhofe asked during the May 21 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Fiscal 2010 Air Force budget request. Schwartz said that the Air Force is looking at managing the future fighter fleet significantly differently than it did larger fleets of legacy fighters such as the F-15 and F-16. "Small fleet dynamics are a significant issue here," he said, adding the service would have to "look hard" about whether it would even have dedicated F-22 training aircraft in its inventory and potentially using combat-coded aircraft to carry out training activities. While this situation is "not as ideal" as using dedicated training aircraft, it is one of the realities of managing a smaller fleet. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) pointed out that even if the number had stayed at 381, the Air Force would still have about 240 combat-coded aircraft—which is "less than the historical demand for F-15s." Citing the Air Force's plan to cut 250 legacy fighters from the current force and "that more retirements are on the way next year—that the Air Force may recommend retiring another 255 fighters"—Chambliss noted that field commanders were OK with the 2010 fighter retirement plan, provided USAF procured more F-22s. However, since it does not plan to do that, he pointed to the elevated risk, "which you readily admit." He concluded, "I'm having a hard time really justifying your analysis here."

From AF Daily Report 5 Jun 09

F-35 Contract Announced: The Defense Department has awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.1 billion contract for the production of the third low-rate phase of F-35 production-version aircraft, the company announced Wednesday. This production lot of 17 aircraft includes, for the first time, non-US orders, as Britain is buying two F-35s and the Dutch one for use in operational testing. This large infusion of funds builds on the more than $500 million previously awarded for the long-lead materials, tooling, and test equipment for Lot 3. Already Lockheed is manufacturing 14 aircraft under contracts awarded for the first two low-rate initial production runs. On top of that, Lockheed's industry team, which includes principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, has built eight developmental aircraft that are already in testing, with 11 more of them planned for completion by year's end. The Air Force is scheduled to receive its first production-version F-35A in 2010. The service's program of record sits at 1,763, with final deliveries anticipated in the 2030s. In its Fiscal 2010 budget proposal, the service has requested funds to buy 10 F-35As