Transport Airplanes Will Be First To Be Upgraded, But AF May Miss Deadline By Eight Years

The U.S. Air Force will not be able to equip all of its airplanes with ADS-B Out capability by the 2020 deadline, officials told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, told lawmakers tht because transport and mobility aircraft most often operate in high-density traffic areas of the NAS, they would be given priority for ADS-B copliance, according to military.com. The first aircraft to be upgraded will be the Air Force's C-130 Hercules airplanes. The FY2016 budget included $9.8 million for ADS-B to be installed in the C-130s, but even all of those will not be converted by the 2020 deadline, Holmes said.

Holmes said that the projected cost for equipping all USAF aircraft with ADS-B Out will be $5.6 billion, with the Air Force responsible for about $4.4 billion. "And right now [there is] about $1.2 billion difference in between what we need to accomplish the mandate and what we have committed in our budget."

Holmes said there might not be a "cost effective" solution to equipping airplanes like the F-22.

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), chair of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projections Forces, said he has concerns that the FY2017 budget is not sufficient to keep the Air Force on track to meet the January 1, 2020 deadline. "I am concerned that our military aircraft could be shut out of the airspace they need for transit and training," he said.

The most recent budget documents show that the Air Force includes just over $5 million for ADS-B equipage in 2017, just under $8 million in 2018, and nearly $11 million in 2019.

Holmes said that the earliest he foresees the USAF meeting the mandate is 2028.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.af.mil