View Full Version : USAF Proposed FY2024 Plan
RAFEngO74to09
13th Mar 2023, 21:13
Buying:
48 x F-35A
24 x F-15EX
15 x KC-46A
7 x MH-139A - replacing UH-1N for ICBM site security + VIP transport
1 x E-11A BACN
Divesting - 310 aircraft total - including:
32 x Block 20 F-22A (training standard) - to leave 151 in fleet
57 x F-15C/D - all to be gone by 2026
42 x A-10C - leaving around 218 in fleet
24 x KC-10A - completing retirement of the fleet
37 x HH-60G - being replaced by HH-60W but not 1 for 1
48 x MQ-1 - the last of the Block 1s
2 x E-3 - leaving 18 remaining
3 x E-8C - leaving none
2 x EC-130H - being replaced by EC-37B
4 x EC-130J
Hundreds Of Aircraft Headed To The Boneyard In New USAF Budget (thedrive.com) (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/hundreds-of-aircraft-headed-to-the-boneyard-in-new-usaf-budget)
sandiego89
14th Mar 2023, 14:00
Some interesting retirements.
I would have thought the F-22's, even as early block 20 trainers, would have been useful for training, especially with all those that received storm damage. Could the NGAD be closer than we think?
F-15 C/D totally gone by 2026, Looks like more guard units will get the F-15EX's, and F-35A, and maybe some will revert to F-16s?
Wonder if congress will again keep the A-10's? Seem to b e a powerful lobby
Big Pistons Forever
14th Mar 2023, 16:06
As the old saying goes "quantity has a quality all it's own". Given the low serviceability rate of some of the modern kit. especially the F 35 it would seem that USAF force generation capability maintains its steady decline. I would suggest that is not a good message to send to China.
RAFEngO74to09
14th Mar 2023, 19:11
F-15 C/D totally gone by 2026, Looks like more guard units will get the F-15EX's, and F-35A, and maybe some will revert to F-16s?
The initially planned 144 x F-15EX had been cut to 80 under Biden Admin constraints on USAF funding now crawling back up to 104. Ideally, sufficient F-15EX would have been procured to replace all the ANG units, the upgrade requested at Kadena when the F-15C/D was withdrawn to be replaced by rotational F-22A / F-15E / F-16C and recapitalization of the F-15E fleet.
Hopefully things might change if we get a GOP Admin in 2025 before the line closes in 2026 (although Middle East orders including Israel may keep it open).
Excellent articles here - with the main advantages being the 20,000 hour airframe life (compared to 8,000 on F-35A), huge weapon load hauling capacity, and open architecture for future upgrades:
Buying Just 80 F-15EXs Makes No Sense | The Drive (https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/buying-just-80-f-15exs-makes-no-sense)
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-15ex-eagle-ii-total-buy-increases-from-80-to-104-in-new-usaf-budget
chopper2004
8th Feb 2024, 23:09
https://www.dm.af.mil/Media/Article-View/Article/3671173/davis-monthan-retires-a-10-aircraft/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CFor%20now%2C%20we're,aircraft%20due%20to%2 0the%20divestment.
RAFEngO74to09
9th Feb 2024, 03:37
As the A-10s leave, Davis-Monthan will become the base for 492nd Special Operations Wing - AFSOC's third power projection wing - with multiple capabilities added over the next 5 years:
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3480613/davis-monthan-afb-identified-as-afsocs-next-power-projection-wing/
Big Pistons Forever
9th Feb 2024, 17:09
Do more with less, pretty much the reality during my entire military career.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/04/23/as-the-us-air-force-fleet-keeps-shrinking-can-it-still-win-wars/
As the US Air Force fleet keeps shrinking, can it still win wars?
Asturias56
24th Apr 2024, 16:31
every month we get closer to Augustine's Law XVI - 2054 he posited................... and that was in 1984
West Coast
24th Apr 2024, 16:42
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/04/23/as-the-us-air-force-fleet-keeps-shrinking-can-it-still-win-wars/
As the US Air Force fleet keeps shrinking, can it still win wars?
Yes, it can still win wars, just as long as it’s not multi tasking, i,e, a NATO Article 5 commitment and China using that as an opportunity to move on Taiwan. This is an opinion based not only on the USAF downsizing, but the rest of the US military as well, as in the USN ship building woes.
DogTailRed2
24th Apr 2024, 19:53
As the A-10s leave, Davis-Monthan will become the base for 492nd Special Operations Wing - AFSOC's third power projection wing - with multiple capabilities added over the next 5 years:
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3480613/davis-monthan-afb-identified-as-afsocs-next-power-projection-wing/
Are the large desert storage areas still extant or are they being phased out?
RAFEngO74to09
25th Apr 2024, 19:33
There are no plans to change the role of 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group.
It remains an essential part of Air Force Material Command's ability to support front-line fleets.
For instance, a stored B-1B has recently had its protective covering removed and is in the process of being regenerated to replace the one burnt out at Dyess AFB in April 2022.