BACKING THE ‘BUFF’
BUDGET SPELLS OUT MAJOR USAF PLANS
T
HE US AIR Force’s Fiscal
Year 2019 budget request,
announced as part of the
wider US defense budget
on February 12, calls for
$156.3 billion out of anoverall Presidential budget request
for $686.1 billion. This budget
represents five per cent real growth
over the initial FY 2018 budget,
reversing a seven-year decline in US
defense spending.Secretary of the Air Force Dr
Heather Wilson said the budget
request is aligned with the national
defense strategy, prioritizing long-
term competition with China and
Russia. It aims to restore the readiness
of the force, increase lethality, and
modernize cost-effectively.
Under new plans, the USAF looks
set to retire its B-1B Lancer and B-2A
Spirit fleets as the new Northrop
Grumman B-21 Raider enters service.
The FY 2019 request allocated
funding to upgrade the B-52H fleet
under the so-called ‘bomber vector’,
which includes the retirement of the
B-1 and B-2, previously expected to
remain in service until 2040 and 2058
respectively.
The decision-making appears
to have been based on mission-capable rates, cost of maintenance
and spares supply chains — the
B-52 has a lower operating cost
and a less complex operational cost
than its stablemates. It also seems
the USAF has chosen to retain
the B-52 because of its versatile
payload and its ability to carry the
new long-range stand-off cruise
missile. Around 75 B-52s will remain
in service until at least 2050, with
a $22-billion package of upgrades
including new engines, along with at
least 100 B-21s.
The ‘bomber vector’ draft plan
says the B-2 will be retired ‘no later
than 2032’ and the B-1 ‘no later
than 2036’. If Air Force Global Strike
Command (AFGSC) retained all of
its platforms its strength would
swell to 257 aircraft, which the USAF
says is unsupportable. Retiring the
B-1 and B-2 will reportedly save
sufficient funds to cover the cost
of base infrastructure upgrades to
accommodate the B-21.
The new plan is based around a
‘force-neutral manning structure’,
which means the USAF will manThis image: The USAF
will retain the B-52H
alongside the new B-21.
The Stratofortress will
now receive a long-
awaited engine upgrade.
Mark de Greeuw
Below: The USAF’s
E-8Cs will continue in
service until the mid-
2020s and the current
recapitalization effort will
be scrapped. USAF/SSgt
Patrick Evenson[NEWS] WORLD
06 April 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
6-7 Headlines C.indd 6 16/02/2018 10: