November 8, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Stephen Losey
With Congress flailing in its attempt to pass a budget and the prospect of a lengthy continuing resolution growing, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein on Wednesday outlined how bad that would be.
A year-long CR, funding the Air Force at fiscal 2019 levels, would cost the service the $11.8 billion increase called for in President Trump's proposed fiscal 2020 budget, Goldfein said at a breakfast hosted by the Air Force Association in Washington.
“It's truly damaging for all the services, and certainly the United States Air Force,” Goldfein said.
Even if a CR only lasts for six months, the effects would be significant, he said. The Air Force would lose $1.1 billion that would go to Boeing's development and production of new F-15EX fighters, postponing their acquisition and driving up prices, according to a fact sheet Goldfein distributed. It would also force the Air Force to keep flying F-15Cs for longer than it expected, resulting in further cost increases due to the extensive maintenance needed to keep the aging fighters, plagued by structural health issues, in the air.
A six-month CR would also hit the Air Force's effort to re-arm. It would reduce munitions procurement by 1,000 tailkits to convert unguided bombs into guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions, as well as cut 99 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 665 Small Diameter Bomb II munitions.
And that CR would cost the Air Force $188 million intended for improvements to almost one-third of its F-35 fleet.
But a year-long CR would be even worse, Goldfein said, hitting airmen directly and limiting the planned 3.1 percent pay raise for troops.
It would also scuttle the Air Force's plans to grow its total force end strength by 4,400, he said, which would hurt its efforts to grow vital — and undermanned — career fields such as operations, maintenance, space, cyber, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Efforts to fix the pilot shortfall would take a hit, cutting $123 million from undergraduate flight training, Goldfein said. This would mean contractor instructor pilots would be reduced, a new maintenance training center's opening would be delayed, and trainer fleet maintenance would be delayed.
A CR for all of fiscal 2020 would also delay the procurement of the GPS IIIF space vehicle to replace a satellite that has now been orbiting for twice as long as it was designed, which would place the Air Force in a contract breach. It would withhold $466 million in facility sustainment, restoration and modernization funds, as well as Defense Department emergency funding, slowing the efforts to recover from natural disasters at Tyndall and Offutt Air Force bases.
In all, a six-month CR would delay the start of 26 new programs, 7 production increases, and eight military construction projects. A year-long resolution would prevent 88 new starts, 14 production increases and 41 military construction projects.
F-22 sensor upgrades would also be delayed if a budget is not passed, the Air Force said.
But as rocky as the 2020 budget process may be, Goldfein sees even darker days to come.
“If you look at the projections of funding in the years ahead, many believe that [2021] may very well be the last really good year of funding," Goldfein said. “It may not be true. But it may go flat after that, or it may start coming down. And so, how do you achieve irreversible momentum if you have one good year left of reasonable resources before a potential downturn?”
February 24, 2021 | International, C4ISR, Security
Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to picture the danger from a cyberattack on the water supply or other national infrastructures.
January 20, 2022 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Leonardo has won 260 million euros ($296 million) in Eurofighter radar work from Germany's Hensoldt, meaning the Italian firm now has a major role in all three of the new e-scan radars being built for Typhoon customers.
July 6, 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR
Andrew Eversden Naval Information Warfare Systems Command plans to deploy technology that will certify a ship's compliance with cybersecurity requirements to 180 vessels by fiscal 2022. The cyber baseline system — deployed by FRD 300, which is short for the Cybersecurity Office of the command's Fleet Readiness Directorate — is a web-based application. It allows the directorate to ensure a ship's systems comply with cybersecurity requirements set by the departments of Defense and the Navy prior to departure, according to a June 29 news release from NAVWAR. A baseline “offers a searchable, easy-to-use, platform-specific record of all Navy networks, including hosted and connected, afloat and ashore systems, enabling the ability to independently manage and maintain a ship's information technology capabilities,” the release said. Cyber baselines have been deployed aboard 40 ships in fiscal 2019, the release said. The program, which started in January 2018, has implemented cyber baselines on 80 Navy ships as of June 2020, according to the release. “Delivering cyber baselines allows us to identify capability risks during a ship's availability or scheduled modernization, assuring a cyber-ready platform prior to departure,” FRD 300 Director Duane Phillips said. “We are using an end-to-end approach, ensuring that all hosted and connected systems, including the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) and Integrated Shipboard Network System (ISNS), comply with DoD and DoN requirements and are approved to meet cyber security technical authority standards.” The tool is delivered and installed in coordination with NAVWAR Headquarters, Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific and Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic. According to the release, FRD 300 supports 10 to 15 platforms at any given time. It is currently working on ships in Bahrain, Japan, California, Washington “and more,” the release said. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, FRD 300 is providing both distance and in-person training on the system. “Despite today's current circumstances, our Navy and our nation are continuing to experience an unprecedented degree of competition in the maritime environment,” FRD 300 Executive Director Mike Spencer said. “As the technical leader for Navy cybersecurity we must continue to drive implementation of cyber standards, creating a secure, defensible information domain. By delivering, installing and managing cyber baselines, we are able to provide a validated end-to-end cyber compliant network improving cyber readiness across the fleet.” NAVWAR is also working with NIWC Pacific and Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence and Space Systems to create a C4I certification by the end of fiscal 2021 that assess a system's cyber readiness. According to the release, the certification process will confirm “all warfighter tools and capabilities are cyber secure through consistent and pervasive implementation of cybersecurity specifications and standards.” The efforts come as the Navy continues to work to improve its cybersecurity after an assessment last year found the service lacked effective cyber hygiene and recommended that it restructure its cybersecurity governance. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/06/30/the-navy-aims-to-install-cyber-baselines-aboard-180-ships/