By David Axe
The Pentagon has released a new 30-year plan for its aviation force – its second such plan in two years. The document projects an essentially constant force of 14,000 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps warplanes, helicopters and medium and large drones through the early 2040s. But inconsistencies between the plans belie hidden volatility in the U.S. air arsenal.
The previous aviation plan, published in February 2010, forecast a force structure of 3,168 manned fighter-attack aircraft in 2013 declining to 2,929 aircraft in 2020 as new F-35s slowly replace a larger number of older F-15s, F-16s and other jets. The more recent plan, by contrast, has today’s roughly 3,374-strong fighter force actually growing to 3,448 in 2020.
It’s not clear how the 2012 report could show larger current and future fighter holdings than the 2010 report, considering that in just the past few months the Pentagon has deferred production of nearly 100 F-35 fighters and cut some 120 existing Air Force A-10s and F-16s – reductions not expected in 2010. No new production appears to have occurred that might make up for the retired and delayed airframes.
Read the full story at The Diplomat