Navy, Air Force defend plans to retire planes and ships
by Andrew Clevenger
• CQ-Roll Call • July 22, 2021
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) — Retiring almost $3 billion worth of planes and ships is driven by both the need to invest in future capabilities and to get rid of equipment well past its service life, Air Force and Navy leaders told members of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on Wednesday.
The Air Force is seeking to divest $1.37 billion worth of equipment in fiscal 2022, including 42 A-10s, 48 F-15C/D and 47 F-16C/D model fighters as well as 14 KC-10 and 18 KC-135 tankers and 13 C-130H transports, while the Navy wants to retire $1.26 billion in assets, including two Ticonderoga-class cruisers and four littoral combat ships, according to the Defense Department’s budget request.
Retiring current assets to invest in future capabilities produces a familiar tension between the Pentagon and Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are leery of being caught unprepared if a sudden conflict emerges in order to finance the needs of a potential future one. Additionally, members of Congress tend to favor existing programs that produce reliable, good-paying jobs in their states and districts, even if the Pentagon says it no longer needs the end product.
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2021-07-22/navy-air-force-service-life-planes-ships-2224046.html
