Salami Slicing and Plumbers. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz says further automatic cuts to the defense budget as a result of sequestration are indefensible and will hurt effectiveness. “I think further reductions for example as a result of sequestration are, in my view, untenable,” Schwartz says. “As Secretary Panetta has been saying since he took office, any further salami slicing of the budget beyond the $500 billion in cuts which we’ve been planning will have severe impacts on our ability to maintain our force structure, our readiness and, ultimately, our combat effectiveness…My short hand for sequestration is surgery performed by a plumber. It’s extremely high risk.”
…‘Ain’t No More Money.’ Schwartz says the service is committed to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but in the new reality of today’s constrained budget environment, it will take work by both the service and industry to make it happen. “F-35, ladies and gentleman, is the future tactical aviation for the United States Air Force. We are committed to the F-35. At the same time, it’s not at any price. We clearly have expectations on the part of the manufacturer to help us in a budget constrained environment. If the airplanes are cheaper, we’ll buy more. If they are more expensive, we buy less. This is the reality: There ain’t no more money.”
…A Future For Manned Aircraft. Schwartz says he believes there will be a place at the table for manned tactical aircraft for the next three decades. “To suggest that remotely piloted are any time, any place machines, they are not. Contested air space is a different place for remotely piloted aircraft. So, it is my conviction that while the balance is clearly shifting toward remotely piloted aircraft, there will continue to be, at least in my estimation, in the next 30 years, a place for manned tactical aircraft. And I ask you candidly: Would you be comfortable with a nuclear-laden, remotely piloted aircraft? I wouldn’t be.”
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…Recapitalizing C-130s. Deputy Director of Air Force Strategic Planning James Brooks says the service is focused on recapitalizing the C-130s and that the process could last another 13 years, or less, depending on budgets. “I can’t get into specific numbers, but suffice to say, the Air Force is preserving the recapitalization of the C-130. We’re preserving that capacity. We are focusing on ensuring that we are continuing down the path of recapitalizing all of the 130s. At the end of the day, in our view, recapitalization will continue into the mid-2020s or earlier, depending on where we go with the budgets.”