USAF Woes

[tomahawk6]

The biggest headache is the F-35.Meanwhile Russia's T-50 enters production next year.I expect they will experience the same teething issues the USAF has.These aircraft are very expensive which will limit the numbers that enter service.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-f-35-grounded-putin-101500633.html

 

[CougarKing]

Good news for the A-10 will mean bad news for some Viper pilots, according to some USAF officials:

Stripes

Air Force: If A-10s stay, F-16s headed to the boneyard

WASHINGTON — The Air Force will send some perfectly fine fighter jets to the boneyard or delay its F-35 Lightning II rollout for a year if Congress blocks retirement of the A-10 Thunderbolt, according to a document recently provided to military oversight committees.

The tradeoffs would occur at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, due to limited number of personnel to maintain the A-10s, F-16 Fighting Falcons and the first advanced F-35 joint strike fighters slated to arrive later this year, the service told lawmakers.

The Air Force and Congress have been grappling over the future of the A-10, known as the Warthog, for the past year. Hill recently unveiled plans to mothball 18 of the aircraft. The service wants to eliminate the close-air-support aircraft to save money but the House Armed Services Committee said it will vote this week on a draft defense budget that will bar the move.

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[CougarKing]

Problems for the USAF tanker program?

Defense News

Boeing Shuffles Leadership for Struggling KC-46 Program

WASHINGTON — Hit with a major cost overrun charge and left with little room for error on its KC-46 tanker program, Boeing is bringing in some emergency help for the  program.

Scott Fancher, the company's head of development programs at Commercial Airplanes, has been tasked with righting a program that forms the backbone of Boeing's military aviation future.

In a letter to employees, newly minted Boeing President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said he was tasking Fancher to "provide senior executive oversight and increased management support to the tanker program."

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But Boeing still remains optimistic:

Defense News

Boeing Upbeat Despite KC-46 Struggles
WASHINGTON — Boeing remains confident the KC-46A tanker program will be a winner long-term, despite an $835 million pre-tax charge on the tanker program.

The charge comes from development issues with the integrated fuel system on the plane, which is planned to be the backbone of US air refueling efforts for several decades.

Making his first quarterly report since ascending to the company’s top spot, Boeing President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg insisted the company remains bullish on the tanker despite the issue.

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[CougarKing]

Yet another delay:

Defense News

First Flight of USAF Tanker Delayed by a Month
By Lara Seligman10:57 a.m. EDT August 18, 2015
WASHINGTON — The first flight of the US Air Force’s KC-46 tanker test plane has been delayed by about a month because a mislabeled chemical was mistakenly loaded into the aircraft’s refueling line during testing, Boeing confirmed this week.

“While we’re making the needed repairs as quickly as possible, the first tanker flight will be roughly a month beyond our previous plan to fly in the late-August to early-September time frame,” a Boeing spokeswoman said Tuesday. “Our team is continuing to work hard to make it happen.”

This is not the first time the milestone has been delayed. First flight was initially scheduled for 2014, then pushed back to April, then postponed again to later this summer. The company will have more specifics on the exact date of first flight once the team completes ground testing, the spokeswoman said.

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[CougarKing]

Part of a huge battle involving the USAF's goal to cut costs against several powerful congressmen's attempts to save jobs. 

(US Congress report)

Sanford Herald

Aug. 02, 2015

Fight over 440th Airlift Wing remains

FAYETTEVILLE — After the Air Force Reserve Command pushed back the deactivation of the 440th Airlift Wing by one year, U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers was one of the first to say the fight wasn’t over.

“We will remain in this effort and on this fight, and we will be watching really closely and [will be] ready to act at anytime,” Ellmers, who represents North Carolina’s 2nd district, said Thursday.

The 440th, which flies C-130 aircraft in support of Fort Bragg training, had been scheduled to be deactivated Sept. 30 until Col. Karl Schmitkons, commander of the 440th, announced the extension...

But the adverse effects of a deactivation would not stop at the Cumberland County line, said George Breece, chairman of the Fayetteville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“It would mean thousands of jobs [lost]. It would mean families moving away from our community,” Breece said. “The truth is that anytime you lose jobs and lose that kind of income, it has a negative impact, and I think it would have an impact in Lee County and certainly a significant impact in Cumberland County.”

Air Force Times

USAF study: C-130 fleet too big, cuts needed to modernize

April 15, 2015

The Air Force in March finalized a report on C-130 force structure, which was mandated in the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. That year, the Air Force attempted to retire dozens of C-130s, but was blocked by Congress, which then required the service to produce a report on the savings and strategic decisions behind the moves.

The Air Force kept a minimum of 358 aircraft during the review. The service is now moving to reduce that number to 300, with the goal of saving $751 million over five years. A fleet of 300 would still exceed Defense Department requirements by 52 aircraft, according to the report.

The moves include retiring some of the oldest C-130H models and moving aircraft to consolidate the units that fly the aircraft. Some of the savingswould be used to upgrade the avionics on the remaining C-130Hs and help the active duty move to an all-modern C-130J fleet...

The Air Force's plans to move C-130s out of certain bases have angered the lawmakers who represent those regions and who have vowed to block the moves

 

[MarkOttawa]

F-16/F-35A/A-10:

The U.S. Air Force Is Slowly Killing the F-16 — and Leaving Gaps in America’s Defenses
Budget woes threatened fighter jets even before A-10 fracas

As the U.S. Air Force faced stiff opposition in Congress to its latest attempts to kill the A-10 Warthog, it offered up a thinly veiled threat. If it couldn’t ditch the low- and slow-flying planes, the service would cut somewhere else … like its F-16 fleet.

The cuts were necessary to free up funds for the incoming F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Air Force argued in a April 2015 memo to the House Armed Services Committee. More specifically, if the flying branch couldn’t retire A-10s at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, it would send the base’s Vipers to the boneyard instead.

After swift criticism from lawmakers, the Air Force recalled the memo, claiming it had not cleared the paper for release.

But what the flying branch didn’t say in its message — or in public — was that budget woes have threatened the F-16 for years. A 2013 Air Combat Command historical review highlights serious concerns about what might happen to the fast-moving jets.

Between shrinking coffers imposed by caps on defense spending and the growing cost of the troublesome F-35 program, the Air Force decided to halt much needed upgrades for its F-16s. But this threatened to create new, potentially more dangerous gaps.

Air Combat Command oversees the bulk of the service’s combat aircraft, including the Warthogs and Vipers, and hopes to eventually take over the first combat ready F-35A stealth fighters sometime in 2016.

War Is Boring obtained a heavily redacted copy of the historical review via the Freedom of Information Act...

...[in 2011] the 1990s-era Vipers desperately needed an overhaul, so the Air Force planned to put at least 300 jets through a so-called Service Life Extension Program.

SLEP involved replacing significant portions of the aircraft’s basic structure. Without these vital repairs, wear and tear on the wings, fuselage and other components might literally cause the jets to fall out of the sky.

On top of that, the Air Force wanted to give each of these older F-16s what it termed a Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite, or CAPES. While the SLEP would keep the aircraft flying safely, CAPES would ensure the jets could fight and defend themselves against a high-tech enemy.

With new radars, defensive gear, communications equipment and digital monitors, the upgraded jets would be just as capable as the newest F-16s. By using the same gear fitted to newer models — or gear already in limited production for the Air National Guard — Air Combat Command could do all this work on the cheap.

But not cheap enough.

“F-16 fleet modernization efforts continued through 2013, but eventually halted because of funding constraints,” the history explained. “4th Gen modernization became a target to pay for 5th Gen recapitalization, and this tradeoff included the F-16 programs.”..
http://warisboring.com/articles/the-u-s-air-force-is-slowly-killing-the-f-16-and-leaving-gaps-in-americas-defenses/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

The bases front:

Air-force bases
Catch-2015
The Department of Defence can neither close bases nor keep them working
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21665008-department-defence-can-neither-close-bases-nor-keep-them-working-catch-2015

Mark
Ottawa

 

[CBH99]

Does the USAF really need cinemas & libraries on the base, when many of their installations are near cities, and therefore amenities such as those could be found in the local area instead?

 

[tomahawk6]

Does the USAF really need cinemas & libraries on the base, when many of their installations are near cities, and therefore amenities such as those could be found in the local area instead?

Yes

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nonappropriated+funds

 

[Kirkhill]

Part of a huge battle involving the USAF's goal to cut costs against several powerful congressmen's attempts to save jobs. 

(US Congress report)

Sanford Herald


Air Force Times

And the USAF continues in its efforts to run a Railway Line when the Army wants a Taxi Service......

The USAF scotched the Army's C27 buy because .... you know ... it has wings, right?
The USAF then scotched the C27 because .... well .... they had C130s, right?  And they were good enough.  A bit big for most jobs but good enough.
Now they want to scotch the C130s and rely on the C17s, that they insisted they had enough of and could shut down the production lines.
Meanwhile they wanted to get rid of the C140 and upgrade the C5s.

That indicates that all they are willing to do is move their gear from hardstand to hardstand on their schedule.

Coupled with the Warthog fight, and the focus on fighters, bombers and tankers, and it becomes easier to see why the US Army might not feel the love from the USAF (Previously known as The United States Army Air Corps).

Edit - here's a money saving endeavour.  Reinstate the USAAC and ditch the USAF.  Hand the satellites over to the CIA and the NSC (they probably own most of them in any case) and hand the ICBMs scattered around Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas, to the US Army Reserve Artillery. -  All that is needed is for someone to verify a code and push a button - the rest of the time is spent refilling the coffee pot.  >

 

[MarkOttawa]

Kirkhill: And in 1941 the US Army Air Forces:
http://www.army.mil/aviation/airforces/

Mark
Collins

 

[CougarKing]

Some at other defence forums say that the F-22 will never return to full production, in spite of the fact all aspects of the production process have been extensively documented. This is because all the workers for contractors and sub-contractors who made parts specialized for the F-22 have long retired or moved on. Furthermore, the F-22 was never intended for export to close allies who could afford it, such as Japan.

National Interest

A Solution to America's F-35 Nightmare: Why Not Build More F-22s?

America’s F-35 clearly has its share of problems. Such challenges only compound the U.S. Air Force’s real dilemma: not having enough dedicated air superiority fighters as potential competitors like Russia and China beef up their own capabilities. The problem stems from the fact that the Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fleet was terminated after only 187 aircraft were built–less than half of the 381 jets the service needed as a bare minimum.

Speaking to reporters at the Air Force Association convention in National Harbor, Md., just outside the capital, Air Combat Command commander Gen. Hawk Carlisle said he would love to see the Raptor back in production. “I dream about it every night,” Carlisle said.

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But while many within the Air Force would dearly love to see the Raptor back in production, it is not likely to happen. The first problem is that while Lockheed and the Air Force supposedly made every effort to carefully squirrel away the tooling and instructions for building the F-22, problems have emerged when maintenance crews have attempted to pull the equipment in order to repair damaged jets.

One recently retired Air Force official with direct knowledge about the service’s efforts to repair two damaged Raptors said that they faced severe difficulties with retrieving the correct tooling. In one example, Air Force maintainers needed to build a particular component from scratch to replace a severely damaged part for an F-22. The crews went into the Conex boxes where the tooling and instructions to build the part were allegedly stored, but to their considerable surprise and aggravation, the container was empty. The same pattern repeated itself several times—and as of the last time the source checked–the issue remains unresolved. The bottom line is that even if the Air Force wanted to, it may not be physically possible to restart the line—at least not without a huge additional investment in time and money.

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[CougarKing]

After a number of delays...some progress:

Defense News

Boeing’s KC-46 Tanker Completes First Flight
By Lara Seligman 11:17 p.m. EDT September 25, 2015

Boeing’s KC-46 tanker lifted off for first flight on Friday, successfully meeting its latest deadline after months of schedule delays and cost overruns.

After a slight delay due to weather, the test aircraft took off in the early afternoon and landed four hours later at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, according to a company statement. During the flight, Boeing test pilots performed operational checks on engines, flight controls and environmental systems.

“Today’s flight reinforces that we are moving in the right direction and are on track to begin planned Milestone C testing later this year,” said Tim Peters, Boeing's KC-46 tanker vice president and program manager, according to the statement. “This is an aerospace industry first and the culmination of a lot of hard work by the team, including Boeing, our suppliers and the U.S. Air Force.”

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[MarkOttawa]

Chance going for Bombardier airframe?

Budget Woes May Cause US Air Force To Nix JSTARS Recap

Budget uncertainty may force the US Air Force to cancel a planned recapitalization of its ground surveillance fleet, according to a top service official.

“There is still a possibility given the budget that [the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System] may not happen,” William LaPlante, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, told reporters after an event hosted by Defense One on Tuesday.

“It’s a budget issue, so it depends on the sequester and where the priorities are in the department," he said. "It might not happen at all.”

Although LaPlante has previously alluded to the impact sequestration cuts or a yearlong continuing resolution could have on JSTARS, these remarks pack a hefty punch in light of yet another delay to the program. The Pentagon last month denied JSTARS approval to move into the next phase of the acquisition cycle, Defense News first reported Sept. 29...

The service officially kicked off the competition to replace its aging E-8 JSTARS in early August, awarding a trio of competitors each a pre-engineering and manufacturing development contract for a total of $31.4 million. Northrop Grumman, which builds the existing aircraft, is teamed with Gulfstream and its G550 business jet, with L-3 helping with integration. Lockheed Martin is working with Bombardier on a proposal based on the Canadian company’s Global 6000 business jet. Meanwhile, Boeing is offering a modified version of its 737-700 commercial airliner...
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/isr/2015/10/06/budget-woes-may-force-usaf-nix-jstars-recap/73464054/

Earlier:

Bombardier Airframe for New USAF ISR Plane?
https://cgai3ds.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/mark-collins-bombardier-airframe-for-new-usaf-isr-plane/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[dimsum]

What the...

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is representing a former Air Force contractor who says she was fired from a dental clinic at Fort Meade, Maryland, after complaining that her co-workers discriminated against her because she was Hindu.  She claims they then accused her of being a witch.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/10/05/air-force-dental-technician-accused-witch/73398304/

 

[tomahawk6]

Sounds like she is bipolar. ;D

 

[Colin Parkinson]

One recently retired Air Force official with direct knowledge about the service’s efforts to repair two damaged Raptors said that they faced severe difficulties with retrieving the correct tooling. In one example, Air Force maintainers needed to build a particular component from scratch to replace a severely damaged part for an F-22. The crews went into the Conex boxes where the tooling and instructions to build the part were allegedly stored, but to their considerable surprise and aggravation, the container was empty. The same pattern repeated itself several times—and as of the last time the source checked–the issue remains unresolved. The bottom line is that even if the Air Force wanted to, it may not be physically possible to restart the line—at least not without a huge additional investment in time and money.

That sounds like corruption, start hauling in senior people and threaten with hard time. Make the company cough up the funds to replace the missing items.

 

[tomahawk6]

My guess is the culprit are low level personnel that saw a wat to make a buck by selling the parts to China.

 

[CougarKing]

Is there any particular reason why the fighter type was not publicized in this case?? Considering that potential adversaries have already been aware of both fighters for a long time.

Aviation Week

U.S. Considers Up To 72 New F-15s Or F-16s
Nov 19, 2015 Bill Sweetman | Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

F-15: Boeing

LONDON — The U.S. Air Force may solicit bids for 72 new Boeing F-15s, Lockheed Martin F-16s or even Boeing F/A-18E/Fs as budget issues put planned production rates for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter out of reach, according to senior service and industry officials at the Defense IQ International Fighter Conference ...

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[CougarKing]

More on the above- This could be a game-changer:

F-35 Too Expensive: US Air Force Might Buy 72 New F-15 or F-16 Fighter Jets

Diplomat

November 21, 2015

U.S. Air Force officials and industry officials revealed as much at the Defense IQ International Fighter Conference, which took place November 17-19 in London. The U.S. Air Force “is struggling to afford 48 F-35s a year” for the first years of full-rate production a senior Air Force officer told Aerospace Daily & Defense Report. ...

    The service is looking at a three-tier force, with 300 F-16s and some F-15s being modernized “to augment the F-35 and F-22 in a high-end fight” and others assigned to low-end operations, while the contemplated 72-aircraft buy (an Air Force wing) would sustain force numbers and provide additional modern aircraft. ...

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The U.S. Air Force has already asked for cost estimates on procuring new F-15s and life-extension/upgrade options. “Also under consideration is a plan to augment U.S. Air Force electronic attack capabilities by fitting some F-15Es with a version of the Raytheon Next Generation Jammer pod,” the article states.

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