Air Force Plans Massive, Early F-15, F-16 Retirements to Save $3.4 Billion

Oct. 14, 2008 -- The Air Force is planning dramatic cuts to its fighter force in fiscal year 2010 in an attempt to find $3.4 billion to bolster other combat aircraft, munitions inventories, ISR and manpower efforts, InsideDefense.com has learned.

In all, the service plans to retire 137 F-15s, 177 F-16s and nine A-10s in FY-10, according to internal Pentagon documents detailing the stand-down of Air Force jets in the 2010 program objective memorandum (POM). Pentagon acquisition chief John Young initialed the Aug. 27 document, which covers all of the services’ future program and budget plans, on Oct. 3, indicating he had reviewed it.

In all, more than 300 fighters will head to the boneyard. The number of jets being retired is significant, considering a typical fighter squadron is made up of between 18 and 26 aircraft, depending on the platform. It is unknown how this decision will impact the current size of fighter squadrons or whether those units will be decommissioned.

The document, obtained by InsideDefense.com, was compiled to answer Young’s questions about the services' POMs, which were turned in to the Office of the Secretary of Defense in August.

“There is some near-term (FY-10-14) risk taken by this move,” the document states, summing up the earlier-than-expected retirements of the F-15s, F-16s and A-10s. “However, our analysis shows the FY-10 POM smaller but modernized fighter force, when coupled with a robust bomber fleet, can effectively bridge the gap until the F-35 can be produced in required numbers (ramping to 110) and the F-22 can be modified to a common configuration.

“Without accelerating these retirements, we are left with a larger, less-capable force unable to penetrate anti-access environments,” it adds. “We must take advantage of this window of opportunity now to be better postured in the future.”

Senior Air Force officials have said they plan to increase F-35 Lightning II production over the next five years to address a potential fighter gap.

The retirements represent accelerations of seven years in the case of the F-15, six years for the F-16 and 11 years for the A-10, according to the document. The early retirement of the Eagles is expected to save the air service $2.2 billion, the Vipers $1.1 billion and the Warthogs $.1 billion.

“With these dollars, we funded required legacy modifications, manpower, munitions, and [Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance] enablers that allow the smaller force structure to fight an MCO [major combat operation] threat with reasonable risk as we bridge to a 5th-generation enabled force,” the document states.

Specifically, that money will fuel a major push to modernize the Air Force's bombers and remaining fourth-generation fighters. Funding will also go toward increasing manpower to cover a new nuclear-specific B-52 bomber rotational squadron, RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial system expansion, air operation center staffing and air sovereignty alert missions, according to the document.

In addition, the money saved through the retirements will go toward the funding of a number of munitions-related research-and-development efforts, including AIM-120, Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, the maritime version of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, the Massive Ordinance Penetrator and a hard-target and void-sensing fuse, the document states. Also funded are procurement of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, AIM-9X missiles, AIM-120 missiles and Small Diameter Bombs.

The Air Force also plans to fund intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance “enablers” including terminal attack controller vehicle communications systems, GPS anti-jam systems and a joint electronic warfare database. -- Marcus Weisgerber, Inside Defense