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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3138.PDF
1 fs rnmhat airrraff »,*- ..,.* V. '»,„-.'« I lUvtll till \+l Ul L BEAT THE CLOCK While the Joint Strike Fighter programme may soon be under way, an ageing inventory of US frontline combat aircraft still needs to be maintained PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC & CINCINNATI, STEWART PENNEY / OWEGO, NEW YORK & GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC elief at long last is in sight for 25/30/40/50 F-16C/Ds which now average the US Air Force's hard-pressed 12 years old. Even older are the USAF's 400 tactical aircraft fleet. The Lock- F-15C/D Eagles and 366 A-10 Thunder- heed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor bolts, with an average age of 17 years and has received initial production 20 years, respectively. Based on the F-22 approval and, with the conclusion of the purchase being pared back to just 295 concept demonstration phase, the Joint fighters and a maximum JSF output of 196 full-scale development. But there still envisage running on 179 F-15Cs and a remains the formidable financial challenge "significant number of F-16s" to at least of keeping the incumbent inventory of the year 2020, while the A-10 fleet is 5 ageing Boeing F-15 Eagles, Fairchild expected to remain active until 2028. 1 OA/A-10 Thunderbolts and Lockheed _ .. . . £ Martin F-16s flying for years to come. Ucain Spiral !J The task faced by USAF Air Combat Without funding, however, many will not Command (ACC) is twofold: ensuring that last the decade and have already entered fighters, which by any previous measure what the USAF Aeronautical System would now be due for retirement, keep fly- Center's new ageing aircraft system pro- ing for another 20 or more years while gramme office (SPO) is terming the "death maintaining their combat relevance. The spiral". SPO commander Col Rosanne dilemma for budget planners is to find the Bailey explains: "As systems get older, necessary resources to upgrade not just maintenance requirements tend to USAF assets, but those of the US Navy and increase. As this increases, the need to Marine Corps, without dipping into the replace broken parts also goes up, as well as $258-338 billion the Congressional Budget maintenance hours per flying hour and Office estimates will be needed by 2026 to stress on maintainers. Finally, aircraft buy more than 3,700 Boeing F/A-18E/Fs, availability goes down and the fixed cost F-22s and JSFs. per flying hour goes up." In the absence of a significant recapital- While it has been apparent to most isation, or a reduction in the USAF's force within the air force that the average age of structure of 20 tactical fighter wings by the aircraft was climbing as the procurement pending Quadrennial Defence Review of new aircraft diminished throughout the (QDR), the ACC risks running short of 1990s, a healthy post-Cold War inventory more than 1,100 aircraft by the time the of spares and surplus aircraft meant the full JSF reaches initial operational capability in extent of the problems did not become September 2011. apparent for some time. With fewer aircraft "We're going to look at the results of the having to fly longer hours in support of QDR and how JSF source selection goes operations such as Kosovo and Northern and balance our risks and affordability to and Southern Watch over Iraq, the parts bridge the gap," says Gen Daniel Leaf, bubble burst and mission capable rates USAF director of operational requirements, went into a nose dive. The problem has The backbone of the legacy inventory been further exacerbated by a contracting comprises approximately 1,300 Block industrial base, which in some instances * r «H There are already L a series of W enhancements funded for the F-15C/D andtheF-15E i has meant the original manufacturer no longer exists. One of the ageing aircraft SPO's main tasks is to combat the rising cost of aircraft overhaul and support, which is estimated to rise by 3% to 7% a year, through identi fying a common set of solutions for upgrading or extending the life of different types of aircraft. "Cross-cutting" upgrades include adopting a standard cockpit dis play ideology for not just different fighter types, but also bombers and transport air craft. Other examples include working with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to field a common low observable verification system for different stealth air craft and a mobile automated scanner that employs eddy-current technology to inspect for corrosion without removing skin panels. With aircraft flying longer than ever before, previously unknown problems are starting to emerge such as ageing aircraft wiring. Given the drawn-out procurement planned for 1,763 new JSFs, the average age of the USAF's tactical fighter fleet will still be hovering around 16 years in 2025, some five years higher than the historical 38 11-17 SEPTEMBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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