New US Air Force Wish List Adds Billions for More Aircraft
By: Valerie Insinna, January 31, 2017 (Photo Credit: Lockheed Martin)
WASHINGTON — An update to the US Air Force’s 2017 wish list bumps its unfunded requirements to $10.6 billion, with the service seeking funding for more F-35s and a light attack aircraft experiment, among other new efforts.
Congress has not passed a defense spending bill for 2017, opting instead to extend current funding until April — a tactic that gives the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled legislative branch time to figure out how to direct the budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. The services have responded by enlarging their own unfunded priorities lists to reflect growing demands.
In its first $7.2 billion unfunded priorities list, the Air Force restored funding for five F-35s and eight C-130Js, which had been cut in the fiscal 2017 budget request, Defense News reported in March. The new list, likely updated within the past couple months, doubles the number of F-35As the service would fund if it had money available. It also calls for 11 C-130Js, including two MC-130Js used by special operators and an HC-130J search and rescue variant.
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/new-us-air-force-wish-list-adds-billions-for-more-aircraft
