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GAO Report on U.S. Tactical Military Aircraft

The following is the Government Accountability Office report, Tactical Aircraft Investments: DoD Needs Additional Portfolio Analysis to Inform Future Budget Decisions. 

From the report

What GAO Found

Tactical aircraft—fixed-wing fighter and attack planes—provide air-to-air, air-to-ground, and electronic warfare capabilities that are vital to combat operations and homeland defense. Recent studies conducted by the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Joint Staff and the military services have found that...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/21/gao-report-on-u-s-tactical-military-aircraft

Defense Primer: Electronic Warfare

The following is the Nov. 14, 2022, Congressional Research Service report Defense Primer: Electronic Warfare.

From the report

Electronic warfare (EW), as defined by the Department of Defense (DOD), are military activities that use electromagnetic energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum (“the spectrum”) and attack an enemy. The spectrum is a range of frequencies for electromagnetic energy. EW supports command and control (C2) by allowing military commanders’ access to the spectrum to...

https://news.usni.org/2022/11/16/defense-primer-electronic-warfare

GAO Report on Gaps in U.S. Military Aircraft Readiness

The following is the Nov. 10, 2022, Government Accountability Office report, Weapon System Sustainment Aircraft Mission Capable Goals Were Generally Not Met and Sustainment Costs Varied by Aircraft.

From the report

GAO examined 49 aircraft and found that only four met their annual mission capable goal in a majority of the years from fiscal years 2011 through 2021. As shown below, 26 aircraft did not meet their annual mission capable goal in any fiscal year. The mission capable rate—the percentage...

https://news.usni.org/2022/11/11/gao-report-on-gaps-in-u-s-military-aircraft-readiness

Report to Congress on Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program

The following is the June 23, 2022 Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program.

From the report

According to the Air Force, the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is intended to develop “a portfolio of technologies enabling air superiority.” The Air Force intends for NGAD to replace the F-22 fighter jet beginning in 2030, possibly including a combination of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, with other systems and sensors. NGAD began as a...

https://news.usni.org/2022/06/24/report-to-congress-on-air-force-next-generation-air-dominance-program

HASC Chairman’s Mark Says Navy Can Shed 9 Littoral Combat Ships, Saves 4 Amphibs         

The nine in-commission Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships the Navy is proposing to decommission as part of the FY 2023 budget. US Navy Photos

The House Armed Services Committee chairman’s mark would allow the Navy to retire its nine Littoral Combat Ships as scheduled, USNI News understands.

A draft of the bill, obtained by USNI News, does not prevent the Navy from decommissioning the Freedom-class LCSs the service asked to retire in its Fiscal Year 2023 budget request.

The subject of the LCS...

https://news.usni.org/2022/06/17/hasc-chairmans-mark-says-navy-can-shed-9-littoral-combat-ships-saves-4-amphibs

GAO Report: Navy, Air Force Declining Aircraft Mission Capable Rates

The following is the June Government Accountability Office report, Air Force and Navy Aviation: Actions Needed to Address Persistent Sustainment Risks.

From the report

What GAO Found 

Mission capable rates—a metric used to assess the health and readiness of an aircraft fleet—and other related maintenance metrics trends have worsened since fiscal year 2015 for eight selected aircraft.

While the Air Force and Navy have initiatives to address unit-level maintenance challenges, neither service has...

https://news.usni.org/2022/06/17/gao-report-navy-air-force-declining-aircraft-mission-capable-rates

Navy’s F/A-XX Fighter Will be the ‘Quarterback’ for a Team of Unmanned Aircraft

An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to the ‘Red Rippers’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), Jan. 7, 2022. US Navy Photo

The future F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter will operate as the Navy’s “quarterback” for manned and unmanned teaming in future carrier operations, according to the service.

Navy officials described the vision for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, meant to expand the range...

https://news.usni.org/2022/04/28/navys-f-a-xx-fighter-will-be-the-quarterback-for-a-team-of-unmanned-aircraft

Navy Will Endure Strike Fighter Gaps Until 2031, Lawmakers Say

Navy F/A-18 Hornets on North Island, Calif., on Feb. 15, 2022. USNI News Photo

Despite recent projections that it would eliminate strike fighter gaps in the next three years, the Navy now won’t have enough jets to train and deploy efficiently until 2031, two lawmakers said today.

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) and Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), the top lawmakers on the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee, disclosed the new timeline during the panel’s hearing today.

Norcross,...

https://news.usni.org/2022/04/27/navy-will-endure-strike-fighter-gaps-until-2031-lawmakers-say

Navy Keeps Next-Generation Fighter Research Costs Classified For Third Consecutive Budget Cycle

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the ‘Stingers’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113, recovers on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Sept. 23, 2021. US Navy Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Navy is spending more money to develop its sixth-generation fighter program but is keeping the costs classified for the third year in a row, the service said on Monday.

For the last three budget cycles, the Navy has classified the research and development dollars it’s...

https://news.usni.org/2022/03/29/navy-keeps-next-generation-fighter-research-costs-classified-for-third-consecutive-budget-cycle

A Generational Change in Naval Aviation Has Begun Amidst Tight Budgets, Fighter Gaps

Two F-35C Lightning II fighter jets, attached to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, fly in formation for a photo exercise in Lemoore, Calif., Nov. 16, 2018. VFA-147 is the first U.S. Navy Operational F-35C squadron based out of Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore. US Navy photo.

The Navy’s future carrier air wing will include a mix of both fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, with the F-35C and the Super Hornets making up the strike fighter fleet. The recent F-35C deployment...

https://news.usni.org/2022/03/24/a-generational-change-in-naval-aviation-has-begun-amidst-tight-budgets-fighter-gaps

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