Replacing an Aging Fleet

"We have a very, very old fleet out there," says Darleen Druyun, principal deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition. "You reach a point where you have to either completely remanufacture an aircraft or go buy a new one."

The Air Force has reached that point. Over the next five years, the service will spend $65 billion to buy and develop a new air fleet. Much of that money is earmarked for purchasing new cargo aircraft, such as C-17 airlifters and C-130J transport aircraft, to offer expanded and faster airlift capabilities. Also, the service will invest in developing and fielding new fighter aircraft, such as the F-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter, to replace aging F-15 and F-16 fighters.

Aircraft spending will account for nearly half of the Air Force's $155 billion acquisition budget over the next five years and will continue to be a top priority for the next 15 years, says Druyun. The Air Force's recent shift in focus to space operations also is reflected in the service's spending priorities. Over the next five years, the Air Force will spend $23 billion on developing and fielding new satellites, space-based weapons and communications systems.

Air Force spending on space has increased steadily in recent years, says Druyun, while other procurement spending has remained level or been cut. "Air Force space requirements will continue to grow," she says. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced in May that the Air Force would be the lead service for organizing, equipping and training personnel for both offensive and defensive space operations-including planning and acquiring spacebased equipment. The Army and Navy will continue to develop and buy space systems unique to their services.

Other Air Force spending priorities over the next five years include $2.3 billion for aircraft munitions and $1.6 billion for command and control systems. The Air Force's $155 billion acquisition budget, which includes both procurement and research and development spending, directs more dollars toward buying new weapon systems and replacing aging ones than it does toward research and development for future systems. Over the next five years, the Air Force will spend about 60 percent of its acquisition dollars on procurement rather than R&D.

But Druyun says the Air Force is likely to increase spending for basic science and technology research because that is the "seed corn" for the weapons the service will be buying in 10 to 15 years. Like all the military services, the Air Force would like to buy more commercial off-the-shelf products and services from nondefense contractors, rather than demanding that equipment be built to military specifications. But so far, the service has had only mixed success, says Druyun.

"It's difficult to attract the nontraditional businesses to basically join in the defense industrial base because they worry about the stability of our programs, they worry about the stability of our funding and traditionally they have been very comfortable staying on the commercial side of the market," Druyun says.