Sunday, May 19, 2024
Key Issues GAO on F-35 SLCM-N program office PrSM funding
The Air Force's fiscal year 2013 budget request recommends moving the procurement of 98 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft out of the current five-year defense plan, buying half as many MQ-9 Reapers as in FY-12, cutting two acquisition programs designed to build partnership capacity and continuing early research on a next-generation bomber to the tune of $6.3 billion over the next five years, two senior service budget officials said this morning.
The Defense Department's developing AirSea Battle concept should provide operational and materiel benefits for the Air Force and Navy across several platforms, such as between the stealthy B-2 and submarine fleets the two services maintain, the Air Force's senior military official said today.
The Air Force intends to transfer its entire 42-aircraft MC-12 Liberty fleet to the Air National Guard and pursue a more limited version of its C-130 avionics modernization program, service leaders announced today.
The Air Force's top civilian said today that the service remains committed to completing its planned buy of 1,763 Joint Strike Fighters, arguing that any decision to trim the total acquisition objective -- a move that would immediately drive up aircraft unit costs -- is a decision for Pentagon leaders in the next decade.
The Air Force's plan to retire hundreds of aging aircraft will allow the service to reduce expenses and get rid of excess capacity, but arranging those fleets into common configurations will also allow for better flexibility in battle, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said today.
The Air Force plans to eliminate more than 280 aircraft in its inventory, defer or cancel a number of procurement programs and reduce its manpower by nearly 10,000 airmen over the next five years, the service said today in a document released ahead of the fiscal year 2013 budget request.
The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve are likely to realign themselves over the next several years to tackle more "new mission areas" like cybersecurity and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the directors of the two organizations said today.
In a briefing with reporters today, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said that unlike the last time around, the service likely will have to close bases if Congress goes ahead with a new base realignment and closure round, as requested by the Obama administration.
The day before Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reveals details of the Defense Department's fiscal year 2013 budget proposal, a group of retired senior Air Force officials has written a letter to members of Congress urging the government to fund next-generation aircraft like the F-35 fighter and KC-46 tanker to support the new strategic guidance released earlier this month.
The Marine Corps variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is no longer on probation, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced today.
Boeing and the Air Force's military flight test program for the KC-46A next-generation tanker is far too aggressive and should be extended by eight months or more, according to the Defense Department's director of operational test and evaluation.
Air Mobility Command, in conjunction with several organizations within the Defense Department that provide precision airdrop services in theater, is working with industry to refine the technologies that allow for accurate delivery of supplies to troops on the ground, according to the command.
Japan's decision to purchase the F-35A will allow the country's industry to be involved in the construction and final assembly of its new stealth fighters, according to a Japanese statement and comments from a Lockheed Martin executive.
A Defense Department report analyzing the concurrency-related risks to the Joint Strike Fighter program concludes that the aircraft's next-generation helmet display continues to suffer from deficiencies that make it less functional than legacy equipment, and a proper corrective action has yet to be identified.
The Defense Department announced on Friday that it has come to an agreement with Lockheed Martin for the fifth lot of Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, and that lot -- which will include 30 planes -- will cost DOD about $4 billion.
The Air Force's senior civilian has confirmed that there are still "outstanding risks associated with the Joint Strike Fighter flight training" at Eglin Air Force Base, FL, a sign of concurrence with the Pentagon's top weapons tester that the F-35 is not yet ready for unmonitored flight or formal training.
The General Electric-Rolls-Royce team building a second engine for the Joint Strike Fighter has decided to discontinue self-funding of the F136 engine, marking the end of the engine's development, the companies announced today.
A group of retired Air Force generals is urging Congress to recapitalize the service's "geriatric" fleets of bombers, tankers, fighter jets and trainer aircraft even in a constrained budget environment, according to a letter sent today to senior members of the House Armed Services Committee.
A surge in demand for the intelligence that unmanned aerial vehicles provide has caused a known shortage among Air Force UAV pilots and sensor operators, with the service taking steps to prevent that shortfall from growing as its unmanned fleet grows throughout this decade.
The Defense Department formally announced today the creation of an AirSea Battle Office to implement a newly developed concept of warfare in anti-access and area-denial (A2/AD) environments.