Air Force / Navy 30 Year Aviation Plan

[bobbymike]

From the Air Force Times:

DoD submits 1st-ever 30-year aviation plan

By Christopher P. Cavas and John T. Bennett - Staff writers
Posted : Tuesday Feb 2, 2010 17:47:27 EST

For the first time, the Pentagon has submitted to Congress a 30-year aviation plan for the Air Force and Navy.

The combined Air Force-Navy aviation plan, submitted Monday to Congress along with the Pentagon’s fiscal 2011 budget proposal, sheds new light on the Pentagon’s expectations for fielding a new fleet of long-range bombers.

One 10-year outlook chart shows a column of zeros for aircraft purchases along a row titled “bomber.”

“Although the department is spending considerable sums on modernizing legacy air mobility and long range strike platforms, there will be no new procurement of aircraft in these categories during FY 2011-2020,” the plan says. “The picture will change in the 2020s, when the priority will likely shift to buying long-range strike and strategic lift aircraft.”
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Full Story at this link with report downloadable PDF at the very bottom - http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/02/defense_30_year_plan_aviation_020210w/

So if I read this correctly the Air Force and Navy, all aircraft assets, will average procurement of about $26 billion/year over the next ten fiscal years. Does that not seem like a small number given all the issues with the aging of aircraft. I means it represents only 6/10ths of one percent of the entire US FY2011 federal budget. It seems to me quite reasonable to add $5 billion/year and buy some more F-22s or whatever.

 

[Colonial-Marine]

Re: Air Foce / Navy 30 Year Aviation Plan

I must admit my first thought was Gates crossing out most of the list and writing F-35 in huge letters/numbers.

The no bomber part worries me due to attrition concerns. In hindsight it seems like it would have been a smart move if we bought those 20 extra B-2As Northrop was trying to sell in the mid-late 1990s.

 

[r16]

Re: Air Foce / Navy 30 Year Aviation Plan

ı don't know exactly who , but it was some US lawmaker that offered they should buy one aircraft and everybody should take turns flying it . Another long term plan being realised presumably .

 

[TomS]

Re: Air Foce / Navy 30 Year Aviation Plan

ı don't know exactly who , but it was some US lawmaker that offered they should buy one aircraft and everybody should take turns flying it . Another long term plan being realised presumably .

That's a bit from Augustine's Laws by Norm Augustine (one time CEO of Lockheed MArtin, among other jobs). He did sort of a straight-line extrapolation of aircraft unit costs versus budget and reach the following conclusion:

Law Number XVI
In the year 2054, the entire defense budget will purchase just one aircraft. This aircraft will have to be shared by the Air Force and Navy 3 1/2 days per week except for leap year, when it will be made available to the Marines for the extra day.

It's a bit of a joke, but the outline is true -- unit costs escalate faster than the overall budget with no end in sight.

 

[r16]

ı actually looked up for that in my stack of old magazines ; couldn't find them and let me underline these are not objections but what ı thought ı remembered . ı was pretty confident the year was 2036 .
The previous must be from 1912 or so when somebody in Congress did actually suggest that only one plane must be bought for the Army and the Navy and they should take turns flying it . Not exactly sure about the date but ı think the world war was still in the future and aviation was merely a sport for dandies of the day .