The Air Force needs to focus modernization funding on its most important priorities. These five projects are dangerous and costly potential boondoggles.
Share to twitterThe U.S. Air Force is currently flying the oldest, smallest fleet of combat aircraft in its history. It has fewer than 200 heavy bombers to cover the entire world, and many are not available for flight on a typical day. Most of the aerial refueling tankers that are supposed to support those bombers on long-range missions are over 50 years old. Hundreds of Air Force fighters suffer from age-related maladies such as corrosion, metal fatigue and parts obsolescence.
With so many investment needs burdening their budget, you’d think Air Force planners would grasp the urgency of staying focused on what really matters. Well, guess again. There are voices within the service constantly second-guessing technology initiatives that have taken many years to bring to fruition, and must be kept on track if the force is to be modernized. As a result, the current moment of abundant funding for new weapons might slip away with little to show for decades of planning.
A North American Aviation F-100D, one of the century-series fighters. Hundreds of planes were lost in a mad dash to advance military jet technology.Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper has been pitching the idea that the service should buy “attritable” combat aircraft every few years with the idea of only keeping them in service for a decade before spiraling on to something better.
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