Fri, Sep 22, 2006
Less Planes, To Make Room For New Ships
Is the US Navy cutting
aviation to buy more ships? Internal documents obtained by
InsideDefense.com would seem to indicate so.
They say the Navy's FY2007 long-term budget -- which is still
under wraps by officials -- reflects cuts of up to 189 proposed
aircraft purchases through FY2013... including 19 in FY2008 alone.
This comes at a time when Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael
Mullen has emphasized the need to shore up the Navy's shipbuilding
accounts.
Plans to purchase eight F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in
FY2008 also appear to be off; the F-35s comprised eight of the 19
aircraft slashed from that year's budget.
Additionally, under the new budget the sea service will purchase
only 91 STOL F-35s for the Marine Corps through FY2013, and 45 of
the carrier variants -- instead of the previously planned 126 and
66 respectively. Also cut for FY2008 were several H-1 and MH-60
helicopters, T-6A/B Texan II trainers, and MQ-8B Fire Scout
U-A-Vs.
At the same time, according to a December 2005 story in the New
York Times, the Navy wants to increase the size of its fleet from
281 to 313 ships by 2020.
The defense budget approved by the Senate for this year included
$9.6 billion to buy eight new warships. That's $1 billion, and four
ships, more than the Navy asked for -- to make up for years of
declining orders for US Navy ships.
"We are at a crisis in shipbuilding," a senior Navy official
said at the time. "If we don't start building this up next year and
the next year and the next year, we won't have the force we
need."
One can bet the US Air Force wishes they had friends like that
in the Senate -- maybe they'd have a new tanker by now...
More News
Chaff Thin, narrow metallic reflectors of various lengths and frequency responses, used to reflect radar energy. These reflectors, when dropped from aircraft and allowed to drift d>[...]
Aero Linx: International Association of Missionary Aviation (IAMA) International Association of Missionary Aviation (IAMA) is comprised of individuals, schools and ministry organiz>[...]
Also: Boeing Whistleblower, Joby Aviation, Aircraft Parts Bust, AF Crew Trains w USCG Our Airborne schedule will be interrupted next week as we live-stream AEA2024. AEA Dallas 2024>[...]
Also: Moron With A Laser, EAA Aviation Museum, FAA v Santa Monica Propeller Service, Frontier MEC Lauds FO Boom Supersonic has confirmed details surrounding the successful first te>[...]
Aero Linx: The Nebraska Aeronautics Commission The Nebraska Aeronautics Commission was created by the 1935 Legislature to oversee the development of aviation in the state. The Comm>[...]