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Data Points
February 18, 2010—A dramatic rise in CAS and ISR sorties and airdrops in Afghanistan is testament to heightened operations. |
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In More Depth
Living in the BreachPentagon officials are already acting as if the F-35 program has breached Nunn-McCurdy. Looking AheadBarring further disruption, KC-X tankers should be operating around 2017. Sending a SignalShifting GPS assets will take about two years, but warfighters will begin to see improvements right away. |
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The Document File
Annual Report to the President and Congress Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense 2005 Report Annual Report to the President and Congress
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense 2004 Report |
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Testimony
March 11, 2010Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. Cmdr., NORAD & USNORTHCOM Senate Armed Services Written testimony March 11, 2010
Gen. Douglas M. Fraser Cmdr., USSOUTHCOM Senate Armed Services Written testimony March 10, 2010Gen. Norton A. Schwartz CSAF House Appropriations, Defense Written testimony |
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Daily ReportThursday March 11, 2010
Ball in Pentagon's Court:  Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Tuesday the Defense Department may accelerate the process of awarding the KC-X tanker contract now that Boeing is the sole remaining offeror after Northrop Grumman's withdrawal from the contest on Monday. According to a Reuters news wire service report, Whitman said DOD "may be in a position" to reduce "some of those milestones" in the current timeline, which sets the deadline for turning in proposals in mid-May and anticipates the contract award around mid-September. Also on Tuesday, Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's commercial airplane sector, who ran Boeing's defense business through August 2009, said the next move is up to the Pentagon. "It's really in the hands of the customer right now, how they want to proceed," he told attendees at an aviation conference in New York. (See also Bloomberg wire service's March 9 report) More Congested: Today, the US military's global network of terrestrial-based radar and optical sensors keeps tab on approximately 21,500 objects orbiting the Earth, an increase of 1,700 items compared to this time last year, Lt. Gen. Larry James, 14th Air Force commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday. Of these, there are nearly 10,000 pieces of debris, 6,800 unknown objects, 3,700 dead satellites and rocket pieces, and more than 1,100 active satellites. The Air Force is now able to keep track of all active satellites, predict when pieces of debris or satellites will re-enter the atmosphere, recommend when to safely launch a new payload, and prevent potential satellite collisions. In fact, Gen. Robert Kehler, Air Force Space Command boss, told these lawmakers that "there have already been 56 instances" where satellite owners maneuvered their spacecraft to avoid possible collisions based on USAF information. (James prepared remarks) (Kehler prepared remarks) Protect the Taxpayer: In explaining Monday why Northrop Grumman was exiting the Air Force's KC-X tanker competition, Northrop CEO and President Wes Bush urged the Defense Department "to keep in mind the economic conclusions" of the prior KC-X round as it negotiates a sole-source contract with Boeing for the new tankers. Northrop won that round in 2008, but the decision was later nullified. Bush said the Air Force, at that time, "determined that it would pay a unit-flyaway cost of approximately $184 million" for Northrop's first 68 tankers, including non-recurring development. "With the department's decision to procure a much smaller, less capable design" this time around, Bush continued—alluding not-by-name to Boeing's newly unveiled NewGen Tanker—"the taxpayer should certainly expect the bill to be much less." To note: After Northrop's withdrawal, Boeing maintained that it would offer a tanker "at lower total life cycle cost than any competitor" could. Two Thumbs Up: The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center has rated the C-5M transport aircraft as "effective, suitable, and mission capable" based on results of operational testing that concluded in January, C-5 prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday. This testing "was a resounding success" because of the teamwork of the Air Force-industry partnership, said Col. John Scorsone, Air Mobility Command's director of test and evaluation. The Air Force has three C-5Ms today (one converted C-5A and two modified C-5Bs) that are being integrated in normal operations and already performing combat missions. It intends to upgrade 49 more C-5Bs to this configuration by 2016, giving it 52 C-5Ms in all. Sporting new engines, avionics, and additional modifications, a fully loaded C-5M is capable of flying unrefueled for more than 5,000 miles, allowing it to bypass traditional en route stops, thereby saving fuel and decreasing delivery times, according to Lockheed. Moving Beyond Experimental: The Air Force is considering whether to transition its experimental Tactical Satellite 3 system to residual operating status upon completion of its on-orbit assessment in May, Gen. Robert Kehler, Air Force Space Command boss, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday. TacSat-3 was placed into orbit in May 2009. It was designed to demonstrate the military utility of a small satellite that is taskable by a tactical user in the field to search and collect specific hyperspectral images. So far, the experiment appears to have gone well. "TacSat-3 provides a new capability for strategic and tactical reconnaissance from space and continues to successfully provide military utility as a technology and test asset," said Gary Payton, space czar in the Air Force Secretariat, who appeared with Kehler before the panel. (Kehler prepared remarks) (Payton prepared remarks) Don't Change: So argues Ret. Gen. Merrill McPeak, 14th Air Force Chief of Staff, in a recent New York Times op-ed piece against the repeal of the Pentagon's "don't ask-don't tell" policy that the Obama Administration is considering. McPeak led the Air Force in the early 1990s when "don’t ask-don't tell" was established under the Clinton Administration. His bottom line: "I do not see how permitting open homosexuality in [military] communities enhances their prospects of success in battle." In fact, he states, "I believe repealing 'don’t ask-don’t tell' will weaken the warrior culture at a time when we have a fight on our hands." Essentially McPeak contends that the arguments made in favor of changing the policy (e.g., civil rights, individual performance) don't stand up to the imperative of maintaining unit cohesion. "To undermine cohesion is to endanger everyone," he says. (McPeak op-ed piece) (Click here for op-ed responses.) Kane Honored for Space Work: Retired Col. Francis Kane, a leader in the development of Global Positioning System satellites, was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame during a ceremony March 2 at Lackland AFB, Tex. More than 150 family and guests watched as Maj. Gen. Richard Webber, 24th Air Force commander, unveiled a portrait of Kane that will hang in the hall of fame, which is located at Peterson AFB, Colo., and honors those who have made lifetime contributions to the Air Force space program. Webber said Kane, the hall of fame's 50th inductee, is someone who "has influenced life as we know it, not only in military operations, but in all areas." Among his contributions, Kane led the Air Force's nascent navigation satellite program in the late 1960s. He is currently president of the Schriever Institute in San Antonio. (Lackland release) Carted Off into History:  Bldg. 6351, one of the last World War II-era housing facilities at Lackland AFB, Tex., was moved on Feb. 27 on a flatbed trailer to the base's History and Traditions Museum. The open-bay barracks was built in 1942 and capable of housing a flight of about 40 airmen on each floor. It will become part of the museum's enlisted heritage exhibits following renovation and restoration. Tracy English, historian with Lackland's 37th Training Wing, said the goal is to recreate the feel of bygone days for visitors. Lackland officials plan to restore and use only the first floor. Still completing this makeover might take up to 18 months. The building was moved to make room for the construction of a new training complex for basic military training. (Lackand report by Mike Joseph) Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, March 6, 2010
| Sortie Type |
OIF |
OEF |
OIF/OEF |
Total |
YTD |
| ISR |
33 |
40 |
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73 |
3,758 |
| CAS/Armed Recon |
24 |
74 |
|
98 |
5,732 |
| Airlift |
|
|
167 |
167 |
10,425 |
| Air refueling |
|
|
39 |
39 |
2,672 |
| Rescue |
|
|
3 |
3 |
114 |
| Total |
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|
380 |
22,701 |
OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom
OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom
ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance
YTD = Year to Date
Airlift includes Horn of Africa data
Note: Data for all coalition sorties, except airlift and rescue, which are USAF only |
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Verbatim
Preemptive Action
"Since the [Defense] Department's acceptance of the independent estimates last fall, we've been, in just about every respect, acting as if the program were in a Nunn-McCurdy breach. ... We've been taking all of the mitigating and corrective action that we would take as if there were a Nunn-McCurdy breach."
—Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, discussing with reporters the restructure of the F-35 strike fighter program announced in February 2010 and the probability that the program will soon exceed Nunn-McCurdy cost-monitoring thresholds that would necessitate, per US law, a program review and corrective steps, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2010. |
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Verbatim
Message for Grandma
"She has working for her as a citizen in the United States an Air Force Reserve that has some very talented, capable, patriotic, and willing individuals doing the business to keep this nation free. Just like her generation—the 'Greatest Generation'—was, I am very proud of the folks that we have got. If not the second greatest, then they are an extension of the greatest generation and they are ready, willing, and able to do the things that she would want them to do to make sure we keep our freedoms."
—Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Air Force Reserve chief, responding to a reporter's question on what the reporter should tell his 85-year-old grandmother to convey to her the importance of Air Force Reservists to the nation's security, Orlando, Fla., Feb. 19, 2010.
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