US Air Force requested a topline budget of $122.2 billion for Fiscal Year 2016 in Air Force
The service made adjustments from the fiscal year 2015 Presidential Budget request to respond to global changes, adding back the highest priority combatant command requirements. These adjustments include re-phasing the U-2S divestiture and restoring the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System to add more command and control and ISR, and reduce risk to capacity.
The Air Force is resubmitting its request to phase out the A-10 Thunderbolt II fleet by 2019, to shift limited funding and manpower to higher priority combatant commander needs, such as ISR and C2, as well as advanced multi-role platforms ready for the high end fight.
Planned F-15C Eagle divestitures were changed to increase near-term capacity and support the European Reassurance Initiative.
While the fiscal 2016 budget request exceeds funding levels laid out in the Budget Control Act by almost $10 billion, Maj. Gen. Jim Martin, the Air Force director of budget, who presented the budget said it is a necessity to recover readiness.
Martin said a return to Budget Control Act funding levels will risk our readiness today and our readiness 10 years from now.
However, at BCA levels, potential actions that we may have to take would be reducing funding or cutting programs such as the adaptive engine technology, Global Hawk Block 30 sensor enhancements, B-2 DMS and Minuteman III command and control modernization. All these programs could be at risk.
In 2014, USAF flew almost 20,000 close air support and more than 35,000 ISR missions. Airmen launched 25 space missions, flew more than 109,000 mobility and tanker sorties and off-loaded over 172 million gallons of fuel to joint and coalition forces and our medical evacuation crews airlifted over 6,000 wounded warriors and civilians out of harm's way.
USAF will buy 29 additional MQ-9s for increased ISR demands. Additionally, this budget maintains the multi-year procurement plan for the C-130J, with 27 aircraft purchased in FY16. For the space mission, block buys of AEHF Satellites 5 and 6, SBIRS GEO 5 and 6, and we will fund SBIRS modernization -- and also fund modernization of SBIRS mobile ground units -- mobile ground command and control units, fund five EELV launch services and purchase one GPS satellite.
