BUDGET SPELLS OUT MAJOR USAF PLANS
[NEWS] WORLD
THE US AIR Force’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget request, announced as part of the wider US defense budget on February 12, calls for $156.3 billion out of an overall Presidential budget request for $686.1 billion. This budget represents five per cent real growth over the initial FY 2018 budget, reversing a seven-year decline in US defense spending.
Secretary of the Air Force Dr Heather Wilson said the budget request is aligned with the national defense strategy, prioritizing longterm competition with China and
Russia. It aims to restore the readiness of the force, increase lethality, and modernize cost-effectively. Under new plans, the USAF looks set to retire its B-1B Lancer and B-2A Spirit fleets as the new Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider enters service. The FY 2019 request allocated funding to upgrade the B-52H fleet under the so-called ‘bomber vector’, which includes the retirement of the B-1 and B-2, previously expected to remain in service until 2040 and 2058 respectively.
The decision-making appears to have been based on missioncapable rates, cost of maintenance and spares supply chains — the B-52 has a lower operating cost and a less complex operational cos…
