Easing the Strain on Planes and People

ir power has proved to be the military tool of choice in recent conflicts. While that's good news for the Air Force, it's also cause for concern among military planners as the service continues to struggle with recruiting and retention in its most-deployed units. The extraordinarily high operations tempo the Air Force has maintained in support of peacekeeping operations and conflicts such as Kosovo, together with budget shortfalls and the changing nature of the threats the United States faces, have strained the service's personnel and resources.

"We must be prepared for worldwide availability of advanced weapons, wide-ranging terrorist activities, increasing regional instabilities and other emerging and less predictable threats," Lawrence J. Delaney, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in March. "We must develop technologies that permit flexible, yet lethal, forces capable of operating far from home on short notice. We must also be able to afford these new capabilities once we develop them."

The Air Force's highest modernization priority is replacing its current fleet of aging fighters, the F-15s and F-16s. Because Navy and Air Force fighter programs are ultimately expected to cost the taxpayers more than $300 billion, these programs have come under intense scrutiny over the past several months. The services have several times reduced their estimates of how many aircraft they will purchase.

"Within our modernization efforts, the tactical aviation modernization program is based upon a high-low mix of the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to provide the most combat-capable, efficient and lethal air forces possible with the resources allocated," Delaney said. "In this mix, the F-22 provides the high-capability force to attack enemy aircraft and highly defended, high-value targets, while the lower cost JSF, purchased in large numbers, provides the bulk of the attack force."

The F-22 is intended to replace the F-15C/D in the air-superiority role and to have substantial air-to-ground capability as well. The fighter's combination of speed, stealth technology, maneuverability and avionics-coupled with its ability to carry the AIM-9X infrared short-range air-to-air missile, the AMRAAM missile and the 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition-will make it the most sophisticated, capable fighter in the world. The Air Force now plans to buy 333 aircraft by 2013.

Like the Navy and Marine Corps, the Air Force also will continue investment in Joint Strike Fighter development. The multi-role JSF is being designed to satisfy all three services' need for an affordable replacement to aging attack aircraft, including the Air Force F-16s. Delivery of the first production aircraft is scheduled for 2007.

Besides upgrading current aircraft and investing in future tactical aircraft, the Air Force will also invest in airlift capability. In 2001, the service intends to purchase a dozen C-17 airlifters and two C-130J transport aircraft. It will also buy anoth-er JSTARS aircraft, increasing the fleet to 15.

In a nod to what many believe is truly the future of military aviation, the Air Force will begin procurement of the High-Altitude Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. UAVs have played a critical role in military operations in the Balkans, and many advocates of military reform have urged the services to invest more in their development. The Air Force expects to buy two of the HAEUAVs and one mission-control element next year.