Retour aux nouvelles

12 février 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

US Air Force requests $156.3 billion in FY19, plans to retire B-1, B-2 fleets

By: Aaron Mehta

ROME — The fiscal 2019 budget for the U.S. Air Force plans to grow the service from 55 to 58 combat squadrons over the next five years, while buying dozens of high-end aircraft and preparing to retire the B-1 and B-2 bomber fleets as the military retools for the high-end competition forseen by the Pentagon.

The National Defense Strategy, released in January, focused on the potential for great power competition between the U.S. and Russia or China. And in any such battle, the U.S. Air Force would play a critical role; hence, the service's request for $156.3 billion for FY19, a 6.6 percent overall increase from the FY18 request.

Click here for full coverage of President Trump's FY19 budget request!

In FY19, the Air Force is requesting 48 F-35A fighter jets, 15 KC-46A tankers and one more MC-130J aircraft. Ther service is also investing $2.3 billion in research and development in the B-21 Raider bomber, up from the $2 billion request in the yet-to-be-enacted FY18 budget.

The latter is notable, as the Air Force has formally announced it will be retiring the B-1 and B-2 bomber fleets once the B-21 — which will be dual-capable for both conventional and nuclear missions — starts to come online in the mid-2020s.

The budget request also calls for investing in new engines for the B-52 fleet to keep that aircraft going through 2050 — making it an almost 100-year-old design.

“If the force structure we have proposed is supported by the Congress, bases that have bombers now will have bombers in the future,” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said in a service release. “They will be B-52s and B-21s.”

The budget request also seeks to move forward with a new light-attack aircraft, likely either the Embraer-Sierra Nevada Corp. A-29 Super Tucano or the Textron AT-6, to provide a low-end capability.

Although that program seems at odds with the high-end challenge foreseen by the Defense Department, Susanna Blume of the Center for a New American Security believes it fits in nicely, as such an aircraft would remove the need to fly expensive, high-end aircraft for that mission.

Overall, the budget request calls for buying 258 F-35A fighters through the next five years. And in terms of space, the service is requesting $2 billion to fund five launches of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle.

The service also seeks to increase funding for F-16 modernizations to speed upgrades with the active electronically scanned array antennas, radar warning systems and Link 16 systems.

Naval warfare reporter David B. Larter contributed to this report from Washington.

https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2018/02/12/air-force-requests-1563-billion-in-fy19-plans-to-retire-b-1-b-2-fleets/

Sur le même sujet

  • Lockheed Makes $4.4B Bid to Buy Aerojet Rocketdyne

    22 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Lockheed Makes $4.4B Bid to Buy Aerojet Rocketdyne

    By: Sam LaGrone Lockheed Martin has made a $4.4 billion offer to acquire rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne, the companies announced on Sunday. Speaking with investors on Monday, Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet said the move to acquire the engine maker was rooted in the future growth of hypersonic weapons and missile defense systems the Pentagon is developing, as well as the growing space business. In the call, Taiclet and Lockheed CFO Ken Possenriede said the merger had the potential to improve the development of new missile and space systems by allowing engineers across both companies to work closer together. In naval programs, Aerojet supplies engines for the Navy's Trident II D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, Raytheon's Standard Missile-2, SM-3 and SM-6, and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile. Aerojet is also developing a new propulsion system for the MK 54 lightweight torpedo. The company also supplies engines for Lockheed and Boeing's joint venture United Launch Alliance. Lockheed's space division is its third-largest business, accounting for 18 percent of the company's 2019 earnings, reported the Los Angeles Times. The merger, expected to close in the middle of next year, will have to clear regulators in the incoming Biden administration and is viewed by analysts as an early test of how the next White House will handle defense industry consolidation. https://news.usni.org/2020/12/21/lockheed-makes-4-4b-bid-to-buy-aerojet-rocketdyne

  • SASC Bill Adds Advanced Procurement To Navy’s Shipbuilding Funds

    31 mai 2019 | International, Naval

    SASC Bill Adds Advanced Procurement To Navy’s Shipbuilding Funds

    The Senate Armed Services Committee's (SASC) draft FY 2020 defense authorization bill would authorize a moderate amount of funds over the Navy's shipbuilding request for additional advanced procurement funds. According to the bill summary, the committee... https://www.defensedaily.com/sasc-bill-adds-advanced-procurement-navys-shipbuilding-funds/navy-usmc/

  • RCAF instructor launches program to teach Indigenous youth to fly - Skies Mag

    11 février 2022 | International, Aérospatial

    RCAF instructor launches program to teach Indigenous youth to fly - Skies Mag

    RCAF captain and flight instructor at 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School, Joshua Cordery, launched the Eagle's Wings flight school in 2020 with the goal of teaching teenagers to both pilot an aircraft and develop self-confidence.

Toutes les nouvelles