The House Appropriations Committee last week passed its version of the fiscal 2015 defense spending bill, and just released the final report. We’ll be taking an in-depth look at all programs affected, and today we’ll examine what this latest bill means for the KC-46, MQ-9, and RQ-4 programs.
HAC leaves door open for RQ-4 — As we noted last week, House and Senate authorizers disagree whether the Air Force should keep U-2s over RQ-4 Global Hawks, with the Senate panel opting to slash $108.5 million from the Global Hawk program and add $64.3 million for the U-2 fleet. However, Senate authorizers won’t get any financial support this year from the House Appropriations Committee, which noted with resignation in its report that, while it wants to keep U-2s around, “the committee acknowledges that budget constraints in current law have driven the Air Force to choose between the two platforms.” But all is not lost for U-2 supporters: the committee argues that the Air Force hasn’t presented a plan for how it will mitigate the loss of U-2 capabilities and improve the Global Hawk Block 30, and therefore wants the service to submit a plan to the defense committees before taking any action to divest the U-2 fleet. The panel threatened to reverse the move next year if the Air Force is unable to provide sufficient justification. Read more RQ-4 analysis >>>
Panel rejects MQ-9 cut — Last year, the HAC slammed the Air Force’s move to cut MQ-9 Reaper buys as a “complete and brazen contradiction of congressional intent” before replacing eight aircraft in the final bill. The service moved to do the same thing this year, and while authorizers this time signed off on it, the HAC once again added $133 million in funding for an additional eight aircraft, bringing the total buy to 20 — the same as last year. Despite authorizers giving the Air Force some leeway in the face of budget shortfalls this year, it appears that the battle with appropriators over the Reaper is far from over. Read more MQ-9 analysis >>>
HAC signs off on KC-46 buy — Senate authorizers rejected a House effort to cut one of seven KC-46 aircraft to be procured this year, and House appropriators joined them in signing off on the original Air Force proposal. The program enjoys sturdy support at the highest levels of the Pentagon as a top priority, and leadership has shown a willingness to sacrifice other programs before the next-generation tanker. For the most part, Congress appears to agree, and there is currently no evidence to suggest that the House authorization committee’s move to slash an aircraft will get traction with appropriators on either the House or Senate side. House appropriators did note in the report that it wants to continue keeping tabs on any contract modifications worth more than $5 million, however. Read more KC-46 analysis >>>
