KC-135 for the chop?

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TheGreenGoblin
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KC-135 for the chop?

#1 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Mon May 10, 2021 11:59 am

I post this article in toto as not everybody will want to subscribe to the journal.
In a long-running drama, the U.S. Air Force and Congress have been at odds over which aircraft to retire and which ones to keep. Though the Biden administration has yet to release its budget, the Air Force’s hit list already includes the KC-10 and KC-135 tankers as well as the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV.

Last year, Air Force issued a plan to retire more than 100 aircraft of multiple types. It succeeded in obtaining the authority to pare back the B-1B bomber fleet. And the Air Force committed to three years of re-winging A-10 close-air support aircraft–something service officials say they plan to continue.

In testimony to the House Appropriations defense subcommittee May 7, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown wrote that the service needs to “move beyond the KC-10 and KC-135” aerial refueling tanker aircraft and continue to invest in Boeing’s KC-46. The platform is still being retrofitted to prepare it for operational use. “The inability to phase the divesture of the legacy tanker fleet shackles funding and manpower resources and hampers the fielding of the more capable KC-46 at the rate required to support combatant commanders,” the written testimony says. “This negatively impacts air refueling capacity and tanker advancement. Offsets from legacy tanker divestment in both funding and manpower are critical to the success of the KC-46 and air refueling as a whole.”

Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican representing the Oklahoma district housing the Tinker AFB depot where KC-135s are repaired, pointed out that the Obama administration attempted to retire the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Aircraft, which proved to be a mistake. He is supportive of some reinvestments, “but please don’t give up capabilities you may need in the immediate future,” Cole said. “Sometimes you’re going to need those legacy systems.”

How Congress may react to this year’s attempt to shed the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk UAV was unclear. But Brown’s testimony declares the military’s intent. “The Air Force will continue to pursue the fiscal 2021 NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] RQ-4 Block 30 divestment waiver in order to repurpose the RQ-4 Block 30 funds for penetrating [intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance] capability,” he said. “Overall, intelligence collection will transition to a family of systems that includes nontraditional assets, sensors in all domains, commercial platforms, and a hybrid force of 5th- and 6th-generation capabilities.”

The service will follow through with existing plans to re-wing the A-10, Brown told Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat from Arizona, a congressional delegation that has historically rallied to protect the close-air support platform. Brown said the Air Force has about $100 million obligated for the effort in fiscal 2021, has spent about 20% of that allotment so far and expects to spend about 55% of it by the end of the fiscal year.

Last year the service indicated it planned to seek about $100 million for the re-winging effort in fiscal 2022 and 2023 as well. “Our intent is to continue on the path submitted in the 2021 budget,” Brown said. “That is the path we are headed on. At the same time, we are looking at the entire fighter portfolio to make sure we modernize into the future.”
https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/ ... 8d2d649406
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