USAF Rebuilds Precision Munition Stockpiles
By John A. Tirpak
April 1, 2020
Production surge slows as Air Force nears weapons goal.
After an intense period of restocking, Air Force precision weapon inventories are almost back to acceptable levels, Air Force leaders say. Now they are throttling back planned purchases for fiscal 2021.
“We have been able to make a dent†in the munitions shortage, said Gen. Arnold Bunch Jr., head of Air Force Materiel Command during the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in February. The sharp reduction of U.S. air attacks against the Islamic State group “has allowed us to get in a better place and on a better trajectory†in terms of war reserves.
Bunch has previously referred to ups and downs in purchasing as a “sine wave†that plays havoc with budgets and frustrates weapon producers, who have had to add tooling and shifts to meet USAF’s urgent demands for replacement weapons in recent times.
https://www.airforcemag.com/article/usaf-rebuilds-precision-munition-stockpiles/
