—John A. Tirpak
With marching orders from the new administration to improve
readiness first, the Air Force in the near term may have to scale back some of
its enormous and ambitious modernization effort that includes new fighters,
tankers, bombers, trainers, command and control aircraft, and a nuclear arsenal
refresh, acting service Secretary Lisa Disbrow and Chief of Staff Gen. David
Goldfein said Friday.
Speaking at an
AWS17
press conference, Disbrow acknowledged that plans to ramp up Active Duty
endstrength from 317,000 this year to as many as 350,000 poses a daunting bill,
only some of which is likely to be paid for by an infusion of new money from
Congress and repeal of the Budget Control Act.
Disbrow said it is “doubtful we’ll be able to do the
modernization we need to do” and simultaneously reach “that 350,000 in the next
four, five years.” But the Air Force is “too far undermanned” and even at
350,000, that would only restore the service to full manning of existing
missions and weapon systems.
To manage the situation, Disbrow said there will first be an
intense analysis of how to use people more efficiently. “We’re looking at how
robotics and automation could free up manpower to be repurposed in other areas.
We always look at the mix of civilian, and reserve, Active Duty, what is needed
and where can we make those kinds of shifts,” she said.
Some of the impact may be softened by more innovative
contracting methods and manufacturing technologies, she added, noting that
space systems and launch services costs are actually declining ”dramatically” and
that new processes like additive (so-called 3-D) manufacturing may reduce
procurement costs on some programs. So funding may not increase in
modernization “but what you’re getting for that amount is so much more.”
Goldfein said the situation is “no different
this year than any other year, and trades between “capability, capacity,
readiness” is the constant funding struggle. “Very often, the wrong answer is
all one or all the other. And the reality is, we’re in the strategic trade
business … and as an executive team, that is what we do.” But “right now, the direction
that we’ve got from the Secretary of Defense is to focus on readiness. And
that’s where, in the near term, you’re going to see us focusing our efforts. And
we’ve got to analyze that every day.