FY2010 Air Force Budget: Do more with a lot less

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sr-71 This past summer, the United States’ President, Barack Obama sent to Congress his proposal for the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization Bill. As anticipated, the new Bill is full of deep cuts across all four branches of the military. A plethora of weapon system programs were slashed almost in half. Others, weren’t so lucky as twenty-two current projects were officially terminated.

Hardest hit among the Services is the US Air Force. The structure many believe to be the country’s first line of defense recieved the brunt of the massive cut backs, forcing it to borrow a phrase most commonly associated with NASA, ‘to do more with less’.

The Air Force (AF) faces many cuts in its projected aircraft procurement over the next year. That ,on top of a proposed reduction of existing operational frames, have negotiators from the Executive and Legislature branches at odd.

The first AF-related item in the Bill calls for the retirement of 250 aircraft, most of them drawn from Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units located all around Continental America. The removal of these operational airframes will save upwards of $400 millions dollars in total costs during the next year and around $3.3 billion over a five year span, according to Administration officials.

The aircrafts slated to be decommissioned are 112 F-15C/Ds Eagles, 134 F-16sC/D Fighting Falcons and three A-10 tank busting planes. Five additional airframes, four old F-16s and one F-15, are also rumored to be in line for decommission. But those five samples are not included in FY2010. All 254 deactivated units will be placed in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, the so-called ‘aircraft graveyard’ in the Arizona desert. The overall lost of airframes is equal to nine fully-manned squadrons.

The saved funds will be used accordingly to the budgetary outline, to update current fighter and bomber platforms’ on-board systematic capabilities. Some funds will go to several, still in development, air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions programs.

The House of Representatives version of the Bill had a provision attached to it in which they ask for the Defense Department Secretary to submit a detailed report regarding the possible degradation of the overall force strength if these cuts were made a reality. Until that moment, the House had added $345 millions for the continuing operation of those 254 airplanes.

As an operational system, no one aircraft was hit hardest in FY2010 that the F-22 Raptor. The fifth generation air supremacy fighter has been fighting the budgetary axe ever since 1999. But 2010 may mark the end of the road for this unique aircraft. The Senate version of the Bill calls for a production cap of 187 airplanes. But a House version, which authorized $369 million for the continuation of F-22 component development, added funds for twelve additional units, which will elevate the total number of Raptors approved to 199 by FY2011.

The new fiscal Bill asks for funds to further the development of an additional 30 F-35 Joint Strike fighters, another contentious program. The Senate version, although still calling for the production of 30 F-35s, does curtail further development of the aircraft’s new, alternative engine. In the House, negotiators agreed to extend funds for more Research and Development (R&D) on the project, adding $255 additional million for it.

Among the aircraft programs slated to face massive cuts are the US Navy’s F/A-18E/F and EA-18G fighters. The Senate approved only $560 million for nine additional units, while the House went further with its reduction, funding only two units on a $108 million supplemental package.

The Senate made no alteration to the administration’s request for three C-40 Transport aircraft. But the House decided to add $105 million for an additional unit to be included in FY2010. The C-40 is a militarized version of Boeing‘s 737-700 business jet. The planned use is VIP transportation.

The most prominent program to get axed, if the current Bill is signed, is the highly controversial Combat Search and Rescue Helicopter (CASR-X). Both chambers concurred with the President’s request to terminate all activities around the program. Congress also agreed with the administrations proposed cuts to the UH-1Y/AH1Z Helicopter platforms. The concurring version slashed $283 millions or 10 units, from the program.

The much hyped MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, darling of the media, was not spared either. The House and the Senate agree on a full-scale reduction of the units planned to be built for next year. As its currently set up, funds are only available for twelve additional units.

If there are any winners on this Bill it has to be the A160T Hummingbird helicopter. The little known and highly controversial unmanned system recieved $86 million for additional research and development. The Boeing program has produced just four prototypes so far and one successfuln May-2009 flight in ten years.

Overall, this is the deepest a Defense Appropriation Bill has cut since the Bill Clintonn years.

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com