A Senate amendment to save the Air Force’s planned multiyear procurement for the F-22A Raptor passed Thursday—by a 70 to 28 vote. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) proposed the amendment (see below), which would authorize the Air Force to enter into a multiyear contract, beginning in Fiscal 2007, for no more than 60 F-22s, but it specifically prohibits the service from implementing an incremental funding plan. The House also would prohibit an incremental buy and wants justification before approving a multiyear approach.
Fixing the Air Force’s chronic combat pilot shortage will require more aircraft in the fleet, more flying hours to squadron operations, and retaining more pilots within Reserve components, according to a new paper from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.