The Pentagon will request more F-22s than the 183 now on order, but through supplemental war funding, not the regular budget. The news comes from Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, in a Jan. 14 letter to Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Air Force Caucus. Congress had asked England to provide, by Jan. 15, his "thoughts and analysis" on tactical aviation and a justification as to why the Pentagon has stonewalled buying more F-22s when studies show at least 250 are needed. England wrote that “in depth” reviews by the Pentagon show that buying F-35s for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps “provides more effective capability to the joint force commander than concentrating investments in a single service by buying more F-22s.” (So far as we know, it has never been an either-or choice.) He went on to say that the current multiyear F-22 purchase program would provide “sufficient numbers” of Raptors. England said it would be up to Congress to choose whether to fund additional F-22s in the 2009 supplemental. He also offered a briefing “on these issues, including the "department’s rationale for the programmed number of F-22s and the studies that underpin this decision." Stay tuned.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England’s offer to include more F-22s in the next war funding supplemental is an empty gesture at best. Congress has shown great reluctance to buy major items like combat aircraft in war supplementals—F-35s had to be...

The Air Force yesterday released its weapon system “roadmap” describing all the bases at which the service’s new hardware could be based over the next 30 years. The roadmap, crafted with input from all Adjutants General, details the bases at which the F-22, F-35, KC-X, C-27, and other systems might “potentially” bed down, according to the USAF release. Nothing’s certain, though, because: a) environmental impact studies would have to be passed, and b) the Air Force actually has to get the equipment. The EIS process is not a given, because the F-35 and F-22 are noisier than the F-16s and F-15s they replace, for example. Moreover, the roadmap lists bases where USAF would put F-22s if it were to get all 381 it wants, as opposed to the 183 that have been approved. The F-35 would go largely to bases that now have an F-16 or A-10 mission. With few exceptions, bases that already have transitioned from the F-16 to another system—like the MQ-1 Predator—would not go back to flying fighters, senior USAF officials said. That’s because the Predators offer Air National Guard pilots an opportunity to participate in deployed operations without actually deploying, as the crews “fight” by remote control at their home base.

Not included in the release detailing the Air Force’s planned beddown for new systems (see above) is a plan to expand the use of “associate” relationships among active, Guard and Reserve units across the country. Lt. Gen. Raymond E. Johns...

The Air Force is mulling the best approach to take in its expected pullout from Forward Operating Location Manta in Ecuador late next year. The 10-year lease for the South American air base, from which USAF launches counterdrug sorties, expires...

There may be a slight delay in the announcement of a permanent location for USAF’s new Cyber Command, according to the head of the provisional command at Barksdale AFB, La. The Shreveport Times reports that Maj. Gen. William Lord says...

Air Force Special Operations Command will be adding a new squadron to its roster at Cannon AFB, N.M., where it plans to move its current one-and-only unmanned aerial vehicle unit, the 3rd Special Operations Squadron. The 3rd SOS is up...

The Air Force’s new beddown roadmap (see above) identifies seven operating locations for the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft—all of which would be in the National Guard—but senior leaders say there will be more. The C-27J is seen as an “ideal”...

An Air Force Reserve Command pilot safely ejected as his F-16 crashed into the Gulf of Mexico near Key West, Fla. at about 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15. A Navy helicopter crew picked up the pilot, who was flying a training...

A C-17 flown by airmen deployed to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron in Southwest Asia airdropped about 80,000 pounds of supplies Jan. 14 to help support forward-deployed forces and Afghan residents in the snow-covered mountains. The airlifter crew used the...

Although senior Air Force leaders won’t say so in so many words, the service’s new beddown roadmap (see above) is a map of constituencies and effectively puts members of Congress on notice that if they want an Air Force mission...

Jan. 14, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 4 14 CAS/Armed Recon 59 41 100 Airlift 128 128 Air refueling 44 44 Total 69 45 172 286 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...