The Air Force is years away from making a decision whether to reduce the number of F-35s it plans to purchase.
Air Combat Command (ACC) chief Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle said Tuesday the Air Force would be in a better position to decide how many conventional F-35A variants it would purchase when it reaches full operational capability (FOC). Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Kelley Jeter said Tuesday the service is slated to reach FOC by 2018.
“I think there is a decision to be made on how many F-35s we’re going to buy,” Carlisle told reporters at a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington. “It’s way too early to make that decision when we’re not even (initial operational capability) yet.”
The Air Force is set to reach IOC between August and December 2016, Carlisle said. The service is set to buy 1,763 F-35s.
The Air Force faces tight budget situations in upcoming years as it attempts to modernize key priorities like the ICBM fleet, JSTARS recapitalization, the new Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) and a new T-X trainer. American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Resident Fellow for Security Studies Mackenzie Eaglen said Tuesday the F-35 will take up the majority of the Air Force’s procurement account through the 2020s. Eaglen spoke at an Air Force Association (AFA) Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies event in Arlington, Va.
“(It’s) too early to make that decision,” on what the final number will be, Carlisle said.