By Jen DiMascio
The Air Force is seeking an additional $18.75 billion in fiscal year 2009 including $3.9 billion for 15 Boeing [BA] C-17 Globemaster airlifters.
The large list of requirements was not unexpected. The Air Force has been pressing for a larger piece of the budget–with officials saying the service needs an additional $20 billion per year for its modernization accounts over the next five years (Defense Daily, Sept. 21, 2007).
The requirements list from the Air Force Budget and Appropriations Liaison Office also seeks ample funding for fighter jets: $761 million for five F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and advance procurement funding and $600 million to purchase four F-22 Raptor fighter jets, according to the 12-page list. Lockheed Martin [LMT] leads the contracting teams for both jets. The service seeks $437.9 million to hasten the modification of Boeing F-15C fighter jets, and $126.8 million in modifications to the F-16.
With another $616 million, the Air Force would buy five more Northrop Grumman [NOC] Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles–three Block 30 and two Block 40 from an existing contract. That would help the service deliver the capability three years earlier than planned, the document said.
An additional $437.6 million would accelerate the installation of 49 Northrop Grumman Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) kits and 10 Next-Generation Missile Warning Systems.
The Air Force includes a $300 million classified request for which details can be provided later, according to the document.
The unfunded requirements list also includes $89.2 million for the Massive Ordnance Penetrator program, $83.7 million of which would fund research efforts, and $5.5 million would support aircraft procurement. That money is needed, the document said, to address an urgent need for the ability to blast bunkers.
Another big-ticket item on the list is a $1.08 billion request that would boost contractor logistics support funding for maintenance and flying hours. The money, according to the request, would reduce the workload for “already stressed blue suit maintainers.”