 |
|
USAF Grapples With F-22 Costs
Air Force officials say that they have been hit with nearly
$1 billion worth of F-22 fighter cost increases.
They hasten to add that they believe they can still complete
the Raptor program without busting a Congressionally mandated
cost cap, due to budget flexibility.
The price rises are reflected in a $312 million increase in
the Air Force's 2000 budget request for the F-22 and a projected
$667 million in further increases noted in a recent preliminary
General Accounting Office report.
Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Martin, principal deputy assistant secretary
of the Air Force for acquisition, noted these figures at a March
House hearing-though he added that the $667 million in out-year
hikes was only an estimate.
Air Force planners are aiming to bring the F-22 research and
development program to a close under an $18.6 billion cap.
The flight test program might be one area of savings, said
Martin, since the airplane is performing so well. If further
penny-pinching is necessary, service leaders have already decided
to delay the F-22's certification of external weapons carriage.
Avionics delays are one factor driving Raptor costs up, according
to the GAO. Past problems in manufacturing the titanium castings
which connect wings and other body parts have also contributed.
The F-22 is not the only tactical aircraft program currently
under the budget microscope.
The GAO also reports that it does not accept the Navy's assertion
that the F/A-18E/F program is on schedule and within cost. The
Navy's conclusion "reflects the projected aircraft performance,
not the actual performance being demonstrated in flight tests,"
Louis J. Rodrigues, GAO director of defense acquisition issues,
told Congress in March.
Boeing Joint Strike Fighter Passes
Review
On Feb. 24, Boeing announced that its entry in the Joint Strike
Fighter competition passed its third formal Defense Department
review with flying colors.
"The program is on schedule, on budget, and has the ability
and will to fly two demonstrators," said Richard D. Hearney,
Boeing's vice president of military aircraft and missile systems
group.
The program is 56 percent finished, on a cost basis, with
only a 5 percent cost overrun, said Boeing officials.
Recently, Boeing changed its X-32 JSF design, adding horizontal
tails, a modified wing trailing edge, and an aft-swept inlet.
The changes should not mean that the program cannot meet military
specifications, said Boeing.
The Pentagon is expected to select either Boeing's X-32 or
Lockheed Martin's X-35 for its JSF in March 2001. The winner
will land a huge prize: a program that could be worth $300 billion
if all 6,000 projected aircraft are eventually built.
|
Boing Offers More C-17s,
Lower Price
Boeing offered to sell the Air Force a new batch of 60 C-17
transports at a cost 15 percent below current contract prices.
The offer, if accepted in full, would increase the ultimate
size of the C-17 fleet from 120 to 180 aircraft. At present,
the service has 120 of the advanced airlifters either on the
ramp, in construction, or under contract for future delivery.
In addition, USAF has previously stated its requirement for
15 C-17s beyond the 120 and has included funding for all but
one of them in the Fiscal 2000-05 defense plan.
The Air Force currently is buying the advanced airlifter under
a multiyear contract. The 60 new airplanes would carry more fuel,
which would increase their range and payload.
The offer was made to give the Air Force "real numbers"
to work with in the preparation of several ongoing mobility studies,
such as Mobility Requirements Study-05, set to be completed late
this spring, according to Boeing's Stuart Thomson, vice president
for business development.
The Air Force is reassessing the lift requirement in light
of the true pace of operations since the end of the Cold War.
It is planning a major rehabilitation of the C-5 Galaxy fleet,
to include re-engining.
Thomson said production of long-lead items for the C-17 begins
shutting down in 18 months. By considering the cost data now,
he said, the Air Force can make an informed choice about putting
more airplanes into "the normal process of the [program
objective memorandum] development" rather than as a "crisis
action" when the production line starts to close.
Under the proposal, the average flyaway price of each additional
C-17 would be $149 million, a figure that includes the cost of
government-furnished engines. Under the existing C-17 contract,
the best single-airplane price is $198 million.
Both figures are in current dollars.
In addition, the airplanes would have additional fuel tankage
of 10,000 gallons, or 67,000 pounds. The baseline C-17 carries
182,000 pounds of fuel.
The price quoted to the Air Force assumes maintaining production
at 15 airplanes per year through 2006 and finishing out the buy
with five in 2007, rather than in 2003, as is now planned. It
also assumes that Boeing will be able to achieve further materials
and process savings. The company is investing $275 million in
manufacturing improvements, which Thomson said are expected to
yield a 3-to-1 return in savings.
-John A. Tirpak, Senior Editor
|
|
Air Force Defends Airborne Laser
Air Force officials are defending the Airborne Laser program
against charges the program faces too much technological risk.
The system is also known as the YAL-1 Attack Laser.
A restructuring that stretches the program by a year and adds
more risk reduction testing should take care of the problem,
according to service and contractor officials.
A report by Gen. Robert T. Marsh, USAF (Ret.), sent to Congress
March 18 concluded that ABL officials had outlined too little
testing in such areas as atmospheric measurement. It endorsed
the proposed program restructure, however, and spoke enthusiastically
of the potential of the system.
If achieved, the ability to deliver lethal doses of electromagnetic
energy from an aircraft onto distant targets at the speed of
light will represent a truly revolutionary weapon in the nation's
arsenal, said the Marsh study.
|
EAF Wings in Three Flavors
|
|
USAF on March 5 announced changes in force structure affecting
operating locations, people, and aircraft in the US and Britain.
Included were identities of 10 Aerospace Expeditionary Force
combat lead wings, five mobility lead wings, and two permanent
on-call AEFs.
Lead wings are the heart of the Expeditionary Aerospace Force
concept, scheduled to become operational by Jan. 1, 2000. The
goal is to reduce the stress and strain of high optempo.
|
|
|
Aerospace Expeditionary Force
Lead Wings (Combat)
|
|
No.
|
Wing
|
Base
|
Command
|
|
1 |
388th Fighter Wing
|
Hill AFB, Utah
|
ACC
|
|
2
|
7th Bomb Wing
|
Dyess AFB, Texas
|
ACC
|
|
3
|
3d Wing
|
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
|
PACAF
|
|
4
|
48th FW
|
RAF Lakenheath, UK
|
USAFE
|
|
5
|
355th Wing
|
DavisMonthan AFB, Ariz.
|
ACC
|
|
6
|
20th FW
|
Shaw AFB, S.C.
|
ACC
|
|
7
|
2d BW
|
Barksdale AFB, La.
|
ACC
|
|
8
|
28th BW
|
Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
|
ACC
|
|
9
|
27th FW |
Cannon AFB, N.M. |
ACC |
|
10 |
1st FW |
Langley AFB, Va. |
ACC |
| |
|
|
|
AEF Lead Wings (Mobility)
|
|
1/2 |
43d Airlift Wing |
Pope AFB, N.C. |
AMC |
|
3/4 |
60th Air Mobility
Wing |
Travis AFB, Calif. |
AMC |
|
5/6 |
22d Air Refueling
Wing |
McConnell AFB,
Kan. |
AMC |
|
7/8 |
319th ARW |
Grand Forks AFB,
N.D. |
AMC |
|
9/10 |
92d ARW |
Fairchild AFB,
Wash. |
AMC |
| |
|
|
|
On-Call Aerospace Expeditionary
Wings
|
|
1 |
366th Wing |
Mountain Home
AFB, Idaho |
ACC |
|
2 |
4th FW |
Seymour Johnson
AFB, N.C. |
ACC |
| |
|
|
|
|
Peters Announces Humanitarian Mini-AEFs
On March 5, acting Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters
announced the creation of five mobility Aerospace Expeditionary
Force lead wings designed to carry out such humanitarian missions
as delivery of relief supplies. The five will complement the
10 combat Aerospace Expeditionary Force lead wings and two on-call
Aerospace Expeditionary Wings whose fighters and bombers will
remain committed to national security missions.
The mobility AEF wings will draw many of their forces from
the other AEFs.
It was the experience of helping out after Hurricane Mitch
that caused service leaders to realize they needed humanitarian
AEWs, said Peters. Such airlift efforts require a different set
of skills than patrolling over Iraq or Bosnia.
National Missile Defense Legislation
Advances
Both chambers of Congress in early March passed bills mandating
deployment of a National Missile Defense system for the United
States. Neither piece of legislation mentions a specific deployment
date, but the Senate version does call for construction of such
an NMD system "as soon as technologically possible."
The votes-973 in the Senate and 317105 in the House-put
more pressure on an administration that has proceeded down the
NMD road in a more leisurely manner than many lawmakers would
like.
The White House had to abandon a veto threat levied against
the NMD bills after Democratic senators said such a veto would
be hard to sustain-and after passage of amendments that link
American NMD policy to continued arms talks with Russia.
The Clinton Administration has long planned to make an NMD
decision in June 2000. If the decision is "go," a system
could be ready by 2005, according to Pentagon estimates. First-generation
NMD equipment would be intended to protect the US against limited
missile launches and not an all-out attack.
NMD has been gradually gaining support in Congress as the
potential threat of rogue nation ballistic missiles grows more
apparent. North Korea's test of a Taepo Dong 1 missile over Japan,
and intelligence reports that it will soon test a multistage
missile capable of hitting some parts of the US, may have changed
the minds of many missile defense opponents.
The $90 Billion Minimum
|
| "CBO estimates
that DoD would need to spend about $90 billion a year to maintain
steady-state procurement funding for today's force structure.
... DoD plans to spend much less than $90 billion a year. Average
annual spending in the Administration's six-year plan equals
$62 billion, which is DoD's goal. Planned purchases do not equal
steady-state procurement since they do not halt fleet aging.
And planned funding is only two-thirds of the funding DoD would
need to maintain its forces. |
|
"The cost of steady-state procurement
for DoD is sensitive to a number of assumptions, changes in which
could raise or lower that cost. The estimate of $90 billion assumes
that DoD will keep its major weapons longer than it has in the
past. If DoD was unable to extend service lives as long as it
plans, the estimate would be much higher."
From "Aging Military Equipment,"
a Feb. 24, 1999, report to Congress by Lane Pierrot, Congressional
Budget Office senior national security affairs analyst.
|
|
|
Average Ages of Selected Equipment (In Years) |
|
Type |
Weapon Systems |
Service |
Midpoint
of Planned Service Life |
Average
Age in 1999 |
Average
Age in 2007 |
| Missions Without Replacement
Plans |
|
Tanks |
M1 Abrams |
Army |
15 |
12 |
20 |
|
Shore-Based
Maritime Patrol Aircraft |
P-3C |
Navy |
1520 |
23 |
31 |
|
Support
Aircraft |
E-2, EA-6B, S-3B |
Navy |
1018 |
18 |
24 |
|
Bombers |
B-52, B-1, B-2 |
Air Force |
2535 |
23 |
30 |
|
Tankers |
KC-135, KC-10 |
Air Force |
2533 |
39 |
47 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Missions With Replacement Plans |
|
Light
Attack and Scout Helicopters |
OH-58 Kiowa
(Replacement: Comanche) |
Army |
1018 |
21 |
28 |
|
Surface
Combatants |
DDG-51, DD-21 (Replacement:
CG-47, others) |
Navy |
1520 |
12 |
15 |
|
Multirole
Fighters, Close Air Support |
F-14, F/A-18, AV-8B (Replacement:
Joint Strike Fighter) |
Navy |
1015 |
13 |
16 |
|
Multirole
Fighters, Close Air Support |
F-16, A-10
(Replacement: JSF) |
Air Force |
1015 |
12 |
19 |
|
Air
Superiority Fighters |
F-15A-D
(Replacement: F-22) |
Air Force |
1015 |
18 |
23 |
|
Source: Congressional Budget Office based
on data from the Department of Defense.
|
Sea-based NMD?
It is far from a forgone conclusion that any American National
Missile Defense system will depend on land-based interceptor
rockets. In recent months some Navy officers and outside experts
have become increasingly outspoken about the virtues of sea-based
NMD.
Such a system would expand on the current tracking and fire-control
capabilities of Aegis cruisers and destroyers. Building on existing
equipment could provide a near-term technical advantage, proponents
say.
It might also make defensive sites more survivable, as the
stealthiness and mobility of Trident missile subs make them harder
to attack than land-based ICBM silos.
But cost is an issue. A recent Pentagon study asserted that
a sea-based NMD system would cost $19 billion-almost twice as
much as the $10.5 billion DoD has currently allotted for a first-generation
land-based NMD.
A recent Heritage Foundation report claimed the $19 billion
figure was excessive and put the cost of a sea option at $8 billion.
Unlike DoD, Heritage assumed that existing Aegis ships would
make up the backbone of the system, as opposed to new NMDonly
craft.
One big stumbling block could be the Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty struck with the Soviets in 1972. The ABM pact specifically
prohibits sea-based defense missiles.
|
The $2.6 Billion Hole |
|
When the latest Pentagon budget drill ended
early
this year, USAF wound up short of money for
many validated requirements.
The Fiscal 2000 shortfall was $2.6 billion,
by
official count.
|
In
a Feb. 22 letter to Congress, Gen. Michael E. Ryan, USAF
Chief of Staff, provided a list showing gaps of $760 million
in modernization, $901 million in readiness, and $926 million
in infrastructure. The list follows: |
Cumulative Data |
(in millions)
FY 2000 |
Readiness Item |
(in millions)
FY 2000 |
| Modernization items |
$759.9 |
Spares inventory |
$195.2 |
| Readiness items |
901.2 |
Initial spares |
43.6 |
| Infrastructure items |
926.0 |
Engine modifications |
16.5 |
| Total unfunded |
$2,587.1 |
Training munitions |
146.8 |
|
Modernization
Item |
FY 2000 |
AC2ISR Center programs |
42.9 |
|
ALCM to CALCM
conversion |
$69.1 |
EFX/Joint Experimentation |
60.4 |
|
B-52 radar upgrades |
15.4 |
Civil Air Patrol |
7.5 |
|
F-16 HARM targeting
system pods |
6.4 |
NBC high-leverage funds |
18.8 |
|
LANTIRN midlife
upgrade equipment |
10.6 |
Rivet Joint #1516/Cobra
Ball 3 |
32.4 |
|
F-16 Goldstrike
program |
14.4 |
C-130J logistics and training |
24.2 |
|
Accelerate JPATS
buy |
85.4 |
Depot maintenance to 90% |
87.0 |
|
Wind-corrected
munitions dispenser |
10.1 |
Mobility CLS contract |
72.4 |
|
Communications |
88.0 |
Sustaining engineering |
95.4 |
|
Space range modernization |
60.5 |
ICBM prime contract |
16.3 |
|
60K loader acceleration |
12.5 |
C-17 sustainability |
41.8 |
|
Special purpose
vehicles |
52.8 |
Unfunded |
$901.2 |
|
C-17 modifications |
35.9 |
Infrastructure Item |
FY 2000 |
|
MILSATCOM terminals |
23.8 |
Military family housing O&M |
$205.0 |
|
B-2 Link 16 |
36.0 |
Base operating support |
169.9 |
|
E-8 and E-3 computer/display
upgrades |
17.1 |
Real property maintenance |
360.0 |
|
Global air traffic
management |
59.1 |
Environmental clean-up funds |
54.5 |
|
E-8 #14 procurement
line shutdown |
48.2 |
Communications infrastructure |
74.0 |
|
Classified program
2 |
2.0 |
ACALS sustainment |
13.6 |
|
Classified program
3 |
18.0 |
Real property support |
49.0 |
|
Science and technology |
94.6 |
Unfunded |
$926.0 |
| Unfunded |
$759.9 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Army, Navy Open Recruit Door
Wider
In recent months both the Army and the Navy have relaxed their
educational requirements for enlistees. But the Air Force won't
be following their lead-despite today's tough recruiting environment.
The policy remains that 99 percent of young people coming
into the Air Force must either have a high school diploma or
a General Equivalency Degree and at least 15 hours of college.
Without such an education, it is hard to master the high-tech
skills needed to keep today's aircraft flying, say service officials.
The Air Force is maintaining this standard despite indications
that it may not meet its annual recruiting goal for the first
time since 1979. At the end of February, the service was 7.7
percent short of its month-to-month recruiting goals.
Things are even tougher for the Army and Navy. That is why
both now allow up to 10 percent of their recruits to be high
school dropouts who have an equivalency degree only.
A booming civilian economy is one reason recruitment is tough.
But youngsters today are also less likely to accept the discipline
and uniformity that a tour in the military requires.
Pay and pension increases now moving through Congress could
help. Sen. John W. Warner (RVa.), chairman of the Senate
Armed Services Committee, has another idea: shorten enlistments,
despite the fact that such a move would raise training costs
considerably.
In a March letter to service chiefs, Warner urged them to
consider reducing enlistment time from four years or more to
18 months.
The Army already allows two-year enlistments in a number of
combat arms specialties. The Navy has a handful of two-year slots
available. The Air Force, and the Marines, have continued to
insist on a four-year minimum.
F-16 Crash Rate Rising
F-16 crash rates are rising again after years of decline,
and worried Air Force officials can see no obvious cause for
the spike.
In 1996, the Class A accident rate for the lightweight fighter
jet was a record-low 2.14 per 100,000 flying hours. In 1997,
it climbed to 3.0 and in 1998 to 3.89. As of mid-February, the
Fiscal 1999 F-16 crash rate was 5.83 per 100,000 flying hours.
Engine trouble may be one reason. Of the nine 1999 crashes,
six were caused by engine failure. Five of 1997's 11 Class A
accidents were engine-related.
But officials caution that "engine failure" is a
broad term that can cover everything from design problems to
poor maintenance. And engines have not been failing in the same
manner-each has been a unique and isolated problem.
Still, Air Force officials had an informal meeting at Luke
AFB, Ariz., this winter to discuss the possibility of acute F-16
engine problems.
Over time, about 52 percent of the F-16's Class A accidents
have been caused by pilot failure, according to manufacturer
Lockheed Martin. Some 36 percent have been engine related.
For
the Record
|
|
"The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or
more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an
attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if
such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the
right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by
Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist
the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually
and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems
necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain
the security of the North Atlantic area."
-Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, basis of NATO, signed
April 4, 1949.
|
Albanian Population in Southern
Balkans
|
Albania
Kosovo
Macedonia
Montenegro |
Pop: 3,400,000
Pop: 1,600,000
Pop: 441,000
Pop: 41,000 |
Ethnic Albanians:
99%
Ethnic Albanians: 81%
Ethnic Albanians: 23%
Ethnic Albanians: 7% |
| Source:
National census of Yugoslavia, Albania, as reported in the Washington
Post, March 24, 1999. |
USAF Wants F-16 Engine Fixes
Accelerated
The Air Force has asked Pratt & Whitney and General Electric,
the contractors who manufacture the engines used in the F-16,
to accelerate planned power plant improvements, officials told
a House appropriations panel March 10.
The high number of F-16 crashes attributable to engines has
caused the service to allocate funds in its Fiscal 2000 budget
to redesign some engine parts as a precautionary measure. The
current time frame to field the new components is 18 to 24 months,
and the Air Force leadership has decided it wants things to move
faster than that.
Officials told the House panel that they have conducted thorough
inspections and do not think additional crashes will result if
the parts are delayed.
Optempo a Factor in Pave Hawk
Collision
High operations tempo, and the crew burnout it causes, may
have been a contributing factor to the September midair collision
of two HH-60G helicopters at Nellis AFB, Nev.
An accident investigation report released March 15 said that
the accident, which killed all 12 crew members from the two 66th
Rescue Squadron aircraft, was directly caused by operator error
and possible breakdown in crew coordination during evasive maneuver
or close formation flying.
A number of things may have lain behind these human mistakes,
said Col. Denver L. Pletcher, head of the board and commander
of the Joint Combat Rescue Agency at Langley, AFB, Va.
"They include operation tempo, training shortfalls, leadership
dynamics, broken squadron processes, and human factors,"
said Pletcher.
The Pave Hawk pilots just weren't as sharp as they could be,
said officials. The squadron had been home only 10 months out
of the previous 36. A clinical psychologist assigned to the board
concluded that the 66th was severely overtasked at the time and
under immense operational stress.
In addition, the squadron was faced with what Pletcher described
as a virtually unmanageable imbalance in copilot manning and
experience levels. This was due to the addition of four Pave
Hawks to the unit, the replacement of several experienced commanders,
and a lack of seasoned instructors to break in the new pilots.
"Put all these together and you make an accident more
probable," said Pletcher.
The Air Force is already moving to prevent similar accidents
in the future, said officials. Air Combat Command now formally
requires a post-deployment training plan for squadrons that takes
it easy upon returning home-what officials described as a crawl,
walk, and run philosophy.
In January, the Air Force approved funding for four more Pave
Hawks, to help ease the deployment burden. "And we are re-evaluating
all initial qualification training, mission qualification training,
contingency training, and continuation training to ensure that
they meet the [66th's] combat mission needs," said Maj.
Gen. David F. MacGhee Jr., ACC director of air and space operations.
The Joint STARS Imperative
Congress wants the Pentagon to buy more E-8 Joint STARS surveillance
aircraft--lots more.
Members of the Senate and House, in separate but identical
March 11 letters to Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, urged
the Defense Department to ramp up production of the USAF system.
"We believe that it is imperative that the acquisition
of Joint STARS continue in the most cost effective and timely
manner so that we meet the clearly stated and existing operational
requirement for at least 19 aircraft as soon as feasible."
The letters were signed by majorities in both bodies--56 senators
(31 Republicans, 25 Democrats) and 238 representatives (147 Republicans
and 91 Democrats).
The Air Force is planning to spend $483.0 million next year
for one more E-8C, the 14th. Cohen in 1997 cut the planned buy
from 19 to 13 but has had second thoughts and shifted course,
adding one in Fiscal 2000.
Air Force officials said they do not know whether the service
will be permitted to buy any more. The last five E-8s--numbers
15 through 19--are not included in long-range budget plans.
|
Cold War Certificates
Beginning April 5, military personnel and Department of Defense
civilians who took part in the long twilight struggle against
the Soviet Union could apply for certificates honoring them for
their role in winning the Cold War.
Those eligible must have served with the War, Navy, or Defense
departments some time during the period Sept. 2, 1945, through
Dec. 26, 1991. Among the documents that will be accepted as proof
of service are copies of active duty discharges (DD Form 214)
for the military and Standard Form 50 for civilians.
Applicants can mail requests to: Cold War Recognition, 4035
Ridge Top Rd., Suite 400, Fairfax, VA 22030.
Individuals may also apply via the Internet at http://coldwar.army.mil;
by e-mail at cwrs@Fairfax-emh1.army. mil; or fax at (703) 275-6749.
New Bomber a Long Way Off
A new USAF white paper predicts that the service will not
see a new long-range bomber enter operational service until 2037.
That means, among other things, that the B-52 will likely still
be flying until at least that date-when some models will be over
80 years old.
The white paper was produced in response to a 1998 Congressional
request. It says that a mission area assessment of the next bomber
program will begin in 2013, with the acquisition program starting
in 2019 and production in 2034.
"Long-range bombers are integral to [the] Air Force Global
Engagement vision," said the report.
Currently there are 190 bombers in the fleet: 93 B-1s, 76
B-52s, and 21 B-2s. The Air Force study does not envision growth
in those numbers. Where the Cold War put a premium on the ability
to stealthily deliver nuclear weapons on heavily defended targets,
today's world demands large platforms that can deliver large
loads of standoff conventional weapons from a distance.
"Preserve what we have" is the theme for bombers,
said acting Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters at a briefing
on the white paper.
Pay OK, Despite Y2K
The Year 2000 computer problem will not stand in the way of
the Defense Department paying all civilian employees, military
members, and retirees, according to a Defense Finance and Accounting
Service official.
DFAS has been working on the problem for three years, and
all its payroll systems are now Y2K compliant, said DFAS Director
Gary W. Amlin in March. "I feel confident we'll do extremely
well," he said.
The agency continues to work on its computer interfaces with
various outside financial institutions. Federal Reserve Banks
are all compliant from a system standpoint, said Amlin. The Fed
is supporting testing of Y2K solutions with selected stateside
financial institutions and overseas credit unions and NationsBank,
the defense contractor that provides banking services to all
DoD personnel overseas.
Contingency plans include provision for backup computer tapes
on standby at the Fed in case there are data transmission problems.
DFAS will have an extra stockpile of checks on hand, in case
individual banks cannot post deposits.
"If an institution does not electronically receive a
transaction, we can mail a check," said Amlin.
Stockpiling banknotes isn't necessary, said the DFAS chief.
"I'm not going to go out and store cash," he said.
But he recommends that all who use DFAS services ask their individual
financial institutions what they are doing to make sure their
data systems work when "2000" clicks over for the first
time.
Global Hawk Crashes
The Air Force announced that Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
No. 2 was destroyed in a March 29 crash during testing at Naval
Air Weapons Station China Lake's south range in California.
There were no injuries or property damage. The crash came
after a flight of about 20 minutes, the Air Force said. The Air
Force has appointed an investigation team to determine the cause
of the crash.
The in-development aircraft is to provide battlefield imagery
while flying at high altitude and over a long period. When it
becomes operational, Global Hawk will be able to fly higher than
60,000 feet and remain on station for more than 24 hours.
Global Hawk is the Air Force's most prominent remaining UAV.
The service canceled its stealthy DarkStar UAV earlier this year.
|
AMC Chief Cancels Charleston
Inspection
On a March 45 visit to Charleston AFB, S.C., Air Mobility
Command chief Gen. Charles T. "Tony" Robertson announced
that he was canceling the base's upcoming operational readiness
inspection.
Charleston had canceled two mobility exercises so it could
respond to Operations Northern and Southern Watch, among others,
Robertson noted. The base also took the lead in providing airlift
to deliver humanitarian supplies to Puerto Rico and Honduras
in the wake of this winter's severe hurricanes.
"I am recognizing your contributions to our nation's
defense by awarding Team Charleston full operational readiness
inspection credit," Robertson told a crowd of nearly 700
in the base theater. He received a standing ovation in response.
The AMC head also authorized an extra $132,000 for base Year
of the Family initiatives. The money will be used to improve
several base areas, including the athletic field, jogging trail,
picnic area, and playground.
More on the "Space
Force"
Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.) used a March 22 public hearing in
Colorado to promote the idea of creating a separate "Space
Force" from the structure of today's Air Force.
He said he meant this as no criticism of the Air Force and
thought it might even be helpful to the service.
"It may be unrealistic and unfair to expect the Air Force
to be the pre-eminent airpower and also fully exploit space,"
said Smith, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee's
Strategic Forces subcommittee.
Smith spoke at a Congressional field hearing held at Peterson
AFB, Colo. According to Smith, relieving USAF of space missions
could not only strengthen the nation's military space capabilities
but also let USAF concentrate on air warfare.
"I don't see any advantage to that, right now,"
responded Gen. Richard B. Myers, commander in chief of US Space
Command and commander of Air Force Space Command.
Myers, echoing Gen. Michael E. Ryan, Air Force Chief of Staff,
said creating a separate branch would duplicate costs and increase
bureaucracy, leading to less real emphasis on space. The proper
route, said these generals, is to seek a full integration of
air and space capabilities.
Smith first broached the subject in a Nov. 18 address at Cambridge,
Mass. He warned that the Air Force needed to "truly step
up to the space power mission" or run the risk that Congress
would create a new military service for space.
Smith recognized that "the Air Force has played the dominant
role in military space matters for decades" and that "a
significant portion of its budget has gone toward developing
and operating the nation's military space systems."
However, he made his opinion clear that the Department of
Defense and the Air Force are shortchanging space power and that
"America's future security and prosperity depend on our
constant supremacy in space."
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Congress Weighs Future
of "Troops to Teachers"
Congress is considering legislation that would reauthorize
and strengthen the expiring "Troops to Teachers" program,
which provides incentives for retiring military personnel to
enter the education field.
If it passes, the Troops to Teachers Improvement Act would
extend the program through 2004, while taking its $25 million
budget out of the hands of the Defense Department and giving
it to the Department of Education.
"Troops to Teachers is an ingenious idea," said
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D) of Connecticut, one of 13 co-sponsors
of the legislation. "It harnesses a unique natural resource
to meet a pressing national need."
Congress first created the program in 1993, partly to assist
military personnel being shuffled out of the service by reductions
in force. As envisioned by the reauthorization bill, it will
provide a stipend of $5,000 to assist with certification and
relocation costs for military personnel who agree to go into
teaching for at least four years. A further $10,000 bonus would
go to those who agree to four years in schools with a large population
of low-achieving at-risk students.
Eligibility is limited to retired military personnel with
20 years of service, disabled veterans, or those who served six
years and were then affected by military downsizing.
"Since its inception, Troops to Teachers has been a resounding
success with over 3,000 highly qualified men and women having
filled school vacancies in 48 states," said Sen. John McCain
(R) of Arizona, chief sponsor of the new bill.
Global Hawk Down Under
If all goes according to plan, in the spring of 2001, the
Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle will take off from its Edwards
AFB, Calif., base and fly 12,000 miles down under, all the way
to Australia.
The exercise will be part of a $20 million cost-sharing exercise
between the United States and Australia.
"This is a historic moment for the [High Altitude Endurance]
Global Hawk UAV program," said Col. Craig McPherson, director
of the Joint HAE UAV Division at the Aeronautical Systems Center
Reconnaissance Systems Program Office. "The agreement affords
us the unique opportunity to demonstrate, in an overseas deployment,
the reconnaissance capabilities of the HAE UAV system and its
interoperability with the Australian JP 129 Project."
As part of JP 129, Australia plans to buy an airborne wide-area
surveillance system soon after the turn of the century.
Air Sovereignty Operations
Center Online
Air Sovereignty Operations Centers are now up and running
in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, and Romania.
Run by Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass., the
centers are intended to produce a real-time military air-situation
display. Except for the ASOC in Romania, they are connected to
NATO air surveillance systems, and to each other, as part of
their mission in each nation.
"The ASOC brings a new degree of command and control
to these countries by creating a comprehensive military air picture
and by promoting cooperation and cross-border data sharing,"
said Col. Bruce Hevey, ESC's director of Combat Air Forces Command
and Control Systems.
Similar facilities are planned for Slovakia and Slovenia.
A regional Air Surveillance Coordination Center, serving the
Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, is under construction
in Lithuania.
Promotions to Master Sergeant
Hit Five-Year High
On March 8, the Air Force announced that it has reached a
five-year high in its selection rate for promotion to senior
master sergeant. The service picked 1,506 of 18,862 eligibles
for promotion, a 7.98 percent selection rate.
The rate has gone up each year since 1994, when it was 4.62
percent. With the drawdown of Air Force personnel largely over,
officials are hopeful this percentage will keep heading up. They
are optimistic that senior master sergeant promotions will at
least remain above the objective of 6 percent per year.
Ellsworth Fraud Case Settled
The nation's largest builder of military family housing has
agreed to pay the US government $8 million over a five-year period
to settle a fraud claim brought by the Justice Department.
Hunt Building Corp. also agreed to make repairs to an allegedly
faultily designed and constructed 828-unit family housing project
at Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
"This settlement will ensure that our servicemen and
-women will be able to live in habitable housing on Ellsworth
AFB and that the United States recovers rents that were paid
in the past for uninhabitable housing units," said US Attorney
Karen E. Schreier of Sioux Falls, S.D.
The project, known as Centennial Estates, was built between
1989 and 1991. Alleged structural and design defects included
violations of fire-safety requirements, flaws that caused the
units to twist and break apart in the fierce winds of the high
plains, and pipes simply inserted into the ground to make it
appear as if they were mandatory sewer clean-outs.
The Air Force had declared 500 of these units uninhabitable.
For THAAD, That's
Six in a Row
The Pentagon announced March 29 that the Theater High Altitude
Area Defense interceptor once again failed to intercept a missile
target in a flight test above the White Sands Missile Range,
N.M.
It was THAAD's sixth straight miss with no hits. The Army
program, which is to produce a weapon capable of shooting down
an incoming missile, is in deep trouble in Congress.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and the Army announced
the test occurred at high altitude over the central portion of
the White Sands National Missile Range. The Hera target, which
simulated a Scud ballistic missile, was launched seven minutes
before the intercept test.
The test was the ninth in a planned series of THAAD program
definition and risk reduction flight tests to verify the THAAD
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