The US Air Force's Cost Dilemma

James Hasik

Security,

Early discussions between the military and industry are essential for finding financially sustainable ways of war.

It’s a pretty big mess when the service secretary hasn’t heard about the latest procurement programs—which means that they’re maybe not really procurement programs. They’re at best, as Deborah James recently said with that awkward Washingtonian word, “pre-decisional”. As she further argues, it’s “not at all clear” where the Air Force would find the money in its $166 billion budget request for 2017 to pay for some dedicated replacements for its fleet of A-10C attack jets. Deliberations, she noted to Defense News this past week, are still underway. All the same, finding some money today for some easier-operating aircraft will be important for cutting costs tomorrow, and early discussions with industry are important for finding the answers.

In that budget, the USAF is requesting just 94 aircraft of four types: 43 fighters (F-35As), 15 tankers (KC-46As), 24 attack drones (MQ-9As), and 12 transports (H/M/C-130s). That’s hardly the whole procurement spend; as it stands today, the Air Force is more an Air & Space Force, and pays for a lot of satellites and boosters with those funds. Space consumes a lot less proportionately in operating costs, just because maintenance is hardly possible in orbit—at least today. What’s remarkable, then, is how the USAF’s operations and maintenance (O&M) request ($46.9 billion) is more than twice its procurement request ($22.3 billion). The service has been flying constantly, and for a long time now.