NORAD: gli F16 non ce la fanno più

[Ospite intruder]

NORAD Commander: Air Sovereignty At Risk

 

The head of North American Aerospace Defense Command told Congress March 17 that the military unit charged with defending U.S. and Canadian airspace could have trouble maintaining sovereignty of the skies without aircraft recapitalization.

 

In his written testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart Jr. noted that legacy F-16 fighters are aging and “will be stressed to maintain reliability and capability as we move into the 2013-2025 time frame.”

 

Renuart said recapitalizing the fighter, tanker and airborne early warning aircraft will remain a challenge given the Defense Department’s post-9/11 long-term mission requirements.

 

If legacy fighters are retired without a designated replacement being fielded in adequate numbers, NORAD will have a hard time accomplishing its missions, said Renuart, who is also in charge of U.S. Northern Command. The new four-star chief of the National Guard Bureau made similar comments earlier this month (Aerospace DAILY, March 5).

 

Under questioning by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), an advocate of increasing production numbers for the F-22 Raptor, Renuart noted that most of the force he depends on to maintain air sovereignty resides in the Air National Guard, many units of which are flying older versions of the F-16. While he is not worried about filling the gap in the next 10-15 years, Renuart said he is less comfortable with the outlook for the next five to 10 years because “there is a production build coming and we want to make sure we can maintain the existing force.”

 

Renuart said he anticipated F-16s would be supplemented by F-22s and eventually the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, although the Pentagon was still working out details.

 

 

 

www.aviationweek.com

Modificato 18 Marzo 2009 da intruder

[Rick86]

Un'altra delle tante voci USAF che implora qualche F-22 in più

[Tuccio14]

Sinceramente non ho capito bene dall'articolo come si desidera sostituire le macchine dell'ANG... I vertici dell'USAF affermano da sempre che non si vuole assolutamente che l'ANG abbia macchine di serie B rispetto all'aviazione, ma a giudicare dalle versioni di Falcon che usano...

[Rick86]

E' palese. Si vorrebbero passare gli F-15 all'ANG e sostituirli, nell'USAF, coi Raptor

[Dominus]

Veramente l'assegnazione è cambiata, fattostà che oggi l'ANG ha i Raptor

[Ospite iscandar]

tra poco ci saranno i cortei di piloti con gli striscioni "VOGLIAMO PIU' RAPTOR"

[paperinik]

Veramente l'assegnazione è cambiata, fattostà che oggi l'ANG ha i Raptor

 

Esatto: dopo l'11 settembre la copertura dello spazio aereo nazionale (assegnato all'ANG) ha guadagnato il primo posto fra le priorità dell'USAF.

[Little_Bird]

Si ma se la memoria non mi inganna saranno solo due le squadriglie di F-22 assegnate alla ANG.

 

Comunque c'è da tirare avanti solo qualche anno, poi arriveranno gli F-35 e la situazione si ristabilizzerà assegnando parte di essi alla ANG e trasferendo qualche F-16 più nuovo a questi reparti.

Modificato 19 Marzo 2009 da Little_Bird

[paperinik]

Correntemente solo il 149th Fighter Squadron della Virginia Air National Guard opera sui Raptor (è stato riallocato dall'aeroporto di Richmond dove operava sugli F-16 a Langley AFB dove vola sui Raptor del 1st Fighter Wing).

 

In futuro (dal 2010) anche il 199th Fighter Squadron della Hawaii Air National Guard presso Hickam AFB riceverà l'F-22.

[Ospite intruder]

Per la cronaca, ecco le ultime su F22 e altro da aviationweek:

 

Despite news accounts that numerous big ticket Pentagon programs may be coming under the budget knife, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made no decisions yet, the Department’s comptroller said March 18.

 

Anxious members of the House Budget Committee peppered Comptroller Robert Hale with questions about the continued funding viability of the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force replacement refueling tanker, the proposed long-range strike bomber and missile defense projects.

 

“Nothing is off the table” in the Obama administration’s defense budget review before it issues the detailed fiscal 2010 budget next month, Hale told a committee hearing. But he added that Gates wants the review completed before he makes any decision. Obama’s $663.7 billion topline placeholder budget — issued last month — includes $533.7 billion in discretionary budget authority and $130 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The discretionary amount is about a 4 percent increase over the $513.3 billion appropriated by Congress for FY ’09, Hale said.