Air Force Will Cut 10,000 Personnel: The Air Force intends to come down in size by 10,000 Total Force personnel between Fiscal 2013 and Fiscal 2017, said Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz Friday. "Importantly," he said, "those reductions are tied to force structure going away. So we are not reducing personnel in order to meet budget targets." Schwartz briefed Pentagon reporters the day after the Defense Department leadership outlined the programmatic effects of the nation's new defense strategy and the $487 billion in budget reductions that DOD must absorb over the next 10 years. Among the topics Schwartz touched upon, he said:

• If Congress goes along with another BRAC round, the Air Force anticipates that "we would actually close bases." After BRAC 2005, the Air Force "had excess infrastructure in the neighborhood of 20 percent." After eliminating about 500 aircraft since then, the "presumption is that there is more excess infrastructure."
  
• There is no decision yet on the disposition of the Global Hawk Block 30 aircraft that the service seeks to cease operating due to costs deemed too high. "But it would be my expectation that we would place these assets into storage, usable storage, for future possibilities, whatever they might be." Similarly, the disposition of the C-27Js that the Air Force seeks to divest is not yet clear.

(Schwartz transcript)

The Budget Axe Drops: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey on Thursday outlined the programmatic changes resulting from the Obama Administration's new strategic defense guidance and the planned reduction of some $487 billion from the Pentagon's budget over the next 10 years. Among them, the Air Force will:

• Eliminate six of its 60 tactical air squadrons, as well as one training squadron.
• Terminate the RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 30 remotely piloted aircraft program.
• Divest the fleet of 38 C-27Js; support ground forces with C-130s instead.
• Retire 27 C-5A aircraft, leaving a strategic airlift fleet of 52 C-5Ms and 222 C-17s.
• Phase out 65 of the oldest C-130s, resulting in a fleet of 318 C-130s.
• Make balanced reductions in the Air National Guard, consistent with reductions in the active duty Air Force and Air Force Reserve.

At the same time, the Air Force will:

• Fund its next-generation bomber and sustain the current bomber fleet.
• Move ahead with the KC-46A tanker.
• Sustain 65 MQ-1/9 remotely piloted aircraft combat air patrols, with a surge capacity of 85. As part of this, MQ-1s will remain in service longer; MQ-9 procurement will slow.

Panetta said the Air Force will remain one "that dominates air and space and provides rapid mobility, global strike, and persistent [intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance]." (Pentagon budget priorities document and budget fact sheet) (Panetta-Dempsey transcript) (Carter-Winnefeld transcript)

Beyond the Air Force: In addition to sweeping cuts affecting the Air Force, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey on Thursday outlined plans to:

• Reduce the size of the Army to 490,000, a cut of some 80,000 from the post-9/11 peak.
• Trim the Marine Corps' end strength to 182,000 from a peak of 202,000.
• Slow F-35 procurement to complete more testing and allow for developmental changes before buying jets in significant quantities. DOD remains committed to all three F-35 variants.
• Delay by two years development of the Navy's future ballistic missile submarine.
• Develop a submarine-based conventional prompt global strike option.
• Make "marginal" reductions in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, but no reductions in the Marine Corps Reserve.
• Recommend increases in health care fees, co-pays, and deductibles for military retirees.

The President will also propose that Congress authorize a new round of BRAC, said Panetta. (Pentagon budget priorities document and budget fact sheet) (Panetta-Dempsey transcript) (Carter-Winnefeld transcript)

Priced Out of a Mission: The Air Force's Global Hawk Block 30 aircraft, one of several Global Hawk variants in the fleet, on Thursday became a victim of the Pentagon's budget axe. Senior defense officials simultaneously said the service's venerable U-2 will stay in the fleet for longer. The Block 30 variant of the combat-proven, remotely piloted Global Hawk did not deliver on its promise of being an affordable replacement for the manned U-2 for high-altitude intelligence gathering, they said in justifying its cancellation. "The Block 30 priced itself out of" its mission, said Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter. "So we will continue to use the U-2. That's a disappointment to us." The Air Force had anticipated phasing out its U-2s starting in mid decade once the Block 30 fleet of 31 planned airframes was ready to perform the same type of intelligence collection. In a release, Global Hawk manufacturer Northrop Grumman said it was "disappointed" with the decision and would work with defense officials "to assess alternatives to program termination." Flying High, from the forthcoming February issue of Air Force Magazine, discusses the relationship between the U-2 and Global Hawk. (Pentagon budget document) (Carter-Winnefeld transcript)

Bogus Theory: The originally perceived need for a smaller sized airlifter to provide direct support to Army units in difficult environments such as Afghanistan didn't materialize in practice. So states the Pentagon budget priorities document released Thursday outlining the programmatic cuts that will be reflected in the Defense Department's forthcoming Fiscal 2013 budget proposal—including the decision to divest the Air National Guard's new C-27J transport fleet. Pentagon planners "thought the C-130 might not be able to operate effectively" in those tough environments, reads the document. "However, in practice, we did not experience the anticipated airfield constraints for C-130 operations in Afghanistan and expect these constraints to be marginal in future scenarios." Since the Air Force has an "ample inventory of C-130s and the current cost to own and operate them is lower, we no longer need—nor can we afford—a niche capability like the C-27J," states the document. C-27Js deployed last summer for the first time to Afghanistan. The Air Guard already has more than 20 C-27s in its inventory. The Air Force planned to procure 38 in total.

Combat Rescue Helicopter Update: Air Force acquisition officials met with members of more than 30 companies at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to discuss the service's plans to replace its aging fleet of HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters. Topics covered included the service's preliminary acquisition strategy, contract approach, and projected timeline for acquiring the new platform, now called the Combat Rescue Helicopter. This dialogue will help ensure that the elements of the Air Force's forthcoming request for proposal are clear and well understood, said Lt. Col. Dave Jeter, CRH program manager, in a release. The draft solicitation to industry is expected to hit the streets by the end of February, according to service officials. "The CRH's primary mission is to recover isolated personnel from hostile or denied territory, but it will also conduct humanitarian, civil search and rescue, disaster relief, and non-combatant evacuation missions," Maj. Ian Kemp, chief of the CRH requirements branch. The meetings took place Jan. 9-11.

Specially Maintained: The 27th Special Operations Maintenance Group at Cannon AFB, N.M., merged two maintenance squadrons into one and also stood up a new squadron in a ceremony. The group activated the 27th Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, created from the union of the 27th Special Operations Component Maintenance Squadron and the 27th Special Operations Equipment Maintenance Squadron. The merger "will combine all intermediate- and organizational-level maintenance into one squadron that will include over 10 diverse and unique functions," said Col. Wesley Norris, 27th SOMXG commander. During Tuesday's ceremony, the group also launched the new 727th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. "We have a no-fail mission and that mission requires no-fail people to execute it," said Maj. Marcus Brazell, tasked to lead the new unit. Cannon is home to Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft, including AC-130 gunships, CV-22 Ospreys, and MC-130W Combat Spears. (Cannon report by SrA. Jette Carr)

Leadership Change at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics: Lockheed Martin's board of directors has approved the appointment of Larry Lawson to serve as executive vice president of the company's Aeronautics business area, announced the company Thursday. Effective on April 1, Lawson will replace Ralph Heath, who is retiring after 37 years with the company, including seven years at the helm of Aeronautics. "Under Ralph Heath's leadership, the Aeronautics business area has grown significantly and has delivered critical global security products and technologies to our US and international customers," said Bob Stevens, company chairman and CEO. "Ralph has been a key member of our senior leadership team known equally for his operational performance, character, and leadership; he leaves a strong legacy and we wish him the best in his retirement." Lawson is currently vice president and general manager of the F-35 strike fighter program. "Larry brings a keen understanding of our customers' expectations and a proven track record of driving and delivering program and operational performance excellence," said Stevens. Filling Lawson's F-35 leadership position will be Orlando Carvalho, who is currently Lawson's deputy.

Once-Classified Recon Satellites Go on Display: Government and industry officials on Thursday placed three formerly classified photo-reconnaissance satellites on display in the Cold War Gallery of the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Gambit 1 KH-7, Gambit 3 KH-8, and Hexagon KH-9 used specially designed cameras and film to take photos from orbit from the 1960s to the 1980s. Gambit and Hexagon "were America's eyes in space and the most sophisticated satellites of their time," said National Reconnaissance Office Director Bruce Carlson. He added, "These systems were critical for monitoring key targets in the USSR and around the globe and provided much-needed cartographic information to the DOD to produce accurate, large-scale maps." Gambit 1 satellites flew from 1963 to 1967. The next-generation Gambit 3 satellites, which operated between 1966 and 1984, included better image resolution. Hexagon satellites were the last US satellites to return photographic film to Earth. They flew from 1971 to 1984. (Dayton report by Rob Bardua) (See also NRO release.)