New Study: USAF Needs Big Cash Infusion to Overcome Aging Fighter Fleet

[rangerrebew]

 

New Study: USAF Needs Big Cash Infusion to Overcome Aging Fighter Fleet
June 29, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

Without a large corrective investment, the Air Force’s aged fighter force is breaking under the pressure of its small size, insufficient training time for high-end warfare, and chronic shortages of pilots and maintainers, according to a new report from the Air & Space Forces Association’s Mitchell Institute.

“We’re on a collision course” with real-world demands outstripping the fighter force’s ability to answer the call, said retired Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, one of the authors of the report. Fighter force readiness could “fall off a cliff,” added Guastella, whose last job in the Air Force was as deputy chief of staff for operations.

The Air Force’s resources and capabilities don’t match the National Defense Strategy, said retired Lt. Gen David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute. In the face of an assertive China with rapidly increasing military capabilities, an aggressive Russia, and continuing demand for airpower from regional commanders, the need for comprehensive, capable airpower has never been greater, he said.

“It may take losing” a major war to get the public to understand the gravity of the deficit in airpower, he said, and by then, it will be too late.

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/new-study-usaf-cash-fighter-fleet-collapse/

[rangerrebew]

Who needs a fighter fleet when your troops are well disciplined in proper pronouns, gay rights, and CRT.

[PeteS in CA]

Congress should have learned in the 1970s that budget cuts that led to deferred maintenance affected equipment readiness and cost lives (e.g. the abortive Iran rescue attempt). Or maybe in December 1941, when poor maintenance was a cause - not the only cause - of battleships sinking from progressive flooding in Pearl Harbor (watertight gaskets had deteriorated, maintenance plugs were missing or deteriorated). That training and testing cuts due to budget cuts lead to disasters like Savo Island and the Mark XIII/XIV/XV torpedo disasters.