The Air Force is the only military branch requesting additional funds for fiscal year 2014 compared to what was requested in FY ’13, according to President Barack Obama’s budget request, which was released yesterday
The Air Force’s FY ’14 base budget request is approximately $1.2 billion more than requested for FY ’13, good for a 3 percent boost. The Air Force also requested $18.8 billion for FY ’14 procurement, a 2.6 percent increase from last fiscal year’s request.
F-35A procurement requests remains flat for FY ’14 as the Air Force requested funds to buy 19 of the Joint Strike Fighter’s (JSF) conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant, just as it did in FY ’13. The Pentagon, overall, requested $8.4 billion for FY ’14 JSF funds.
The Air Force more than doubled its request for the Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH), asking for roughly $396 million for FY ’14 compared to nearly $184 million for FY ’13, a hike of 54 percent. The additional funding is to procure two CRHs, which are to replace the aging HH-60 Pave Hawk. CRH is the Air Force’s version of the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk, modified for search and rescue operations.
The service requested 14 percent fewer funds for the KC-46 next-generation aerial refueling tanker, asking for roughly $1.6 billion for FY ’14 compared to nearly $1.8 billion in FY ’13. The Defense Department said in a budget justification book the $1.8 million would include the building of four developmental aircraft, integration of military capabilities into the developmental aircraft and developmental and operational testing. The KC-46 is developed by Boeing [BA].
General Atomics’ MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) could take a big hit as the Air Force is proposing to cut its Reaper procurement in half compared to last year’s request. The Air Force is proposing to buy 12 Reapers for FY ’14 compared to 24 in FY ’13.
The Air Force also proposed procuring fewer major space systems in FY ’14. The service proposed buying zero Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) missile warning satellites for FY ’14 compared to two in FY ’13, despite asking for $33 million more in FY ’14. The Air Force, though, proposed buying an additional Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) for this fiscal year as opposed to the four requested in FY ’13 and also asked for a 10 percent increase in EELV funding for FY ’14.
The Air Force requested fewer Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) dollars than in FY ’13. The service requested roughly $653 million for FY ’14, down 17 percent from FY ’13. This will continue incremental funding for satellites AEHF-5 and AEHF-6 and will continue the Space Modernization Initiative (SMI) and research development test and evaluation (RDT&E) activities. Global Positioning System (GPS) funding would also be down for FY ’14, according to DoD’s budget request. The Pentagon requested nearly $534 million for FY ’14 to procure GPS III-7 and GPS III-8 as well as the advanced procurement for satellites nine and 10.
DoD also proposed to significantly increase funding for the C-130J program. DoD is asking for $2.1 billion for FY ’14, an increase of 60 percent compared to FY ’13’s request of $835 million. C-130J is a joint program providing additional cargo capacity for Air Force combat delivery missions while the KC-130J variant provides the Marine Corps with various capabilities, according to DoD.
The Air Force also proposed to stock up on missiles with no decreases across the board compared to FY ’13. The Air Force proposed a 53 percent increase in Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) for FY ’14 and a 27 percent increase in Sidewinder missiles. The service also proposed a 43 percent increase in Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and a 17 percent increase in the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) for FY ’14. The Air Force also requested an additional $32.7 million in FY ’14 for Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) compared to FY ’13. This would allow the service to procure 6,965 JDAMs, up from 4,678 in FY ’13.
The FY ’14 funding request for the F-22 Raptor is also down compared to FY ’13. The Air Force wants approximately $746 million for FY ’14 compared to almost $808 last year, a dip of nearly 8 percent. Unlike the F-22, though, the Air Force proposed a dramatic increase in F-15 funding. The Air Force requested $622 million for F-15s in FY ’13, a 42 percent increase compared to FY ’13. The biggest boost is in procurement, a potential hike of 54 percent from $148 million in FY ’13 to $355 million in FY ’14.