Despite solid combat performance, the F-35’s high maintenance costs and ongoing parts supply problems continue to be a drag on the fifth-generation fighter aircraft, giving critics ammunition as Congress readies to receive the Biden administration’s first budget. Lockheed Martin is delivering F-35s at a rate of roughly 11 a month—about five of which go to the Air Force—and largely on schedule. Operators seem satisfied with its combat performance. But parts problems, engine support issues that will take years to correct, and an evolving performance-based logistics concept suggest a program overhaul may be coming, once the Biden administration installs its new defense acquisition team.
May 2021
Vol. 104, No. 5
As the Globemaster III racks up its 4 millionth flight hour, planners ready upgrades and begin to imagine what comes next. The Air Force’s 222 C-17s are the major portion of a global fleet of 275 aircraft flown by nine nations, including an international consortium. They are the go-to airframe to transfer personnel and materiel to combat zones and remote locales around the world, enduring conditions from dirt airstrips in the Syrian desert to ice and snow in Antarctica. Air Mobility Command anticipates keeping “the Moose” relevant out to around 2060, while it develops requirements for a “family of systems” that someday will replace it.
Lessons from the Battle of Britain loom large in how USAF constructs the Advanced Battle Management System.
Q&A: Interview with Air Force Global Strike Command boss Gen. Timothy M. Ray
Air Force Global Strike Command boss Gen. Timothy M. Ray talks about the high demand for USAF bombers and the value bomber task force missions bring to the nation.
Editorial: True Jointness Requires Hard Choices on Roles and Missions, Trusting Commanders
Jointness is not about ensuring every service gets a piece of every mission. That’s a waste of money and resources. Jointness is about using the right service component forces—at the right places at the right times. It’s about making hard choices on roles and missions and then sticking to them, trusting the joint force commanders to combine the individual service components to best meet the needs of a particular contingency. The objective: To deter and dissuade rival forces such that no foe on Earth would risk challenging the combined power and prowess of the world’s most effective armed forces.
Heroes and Leaders: Red Tail Commander
From pilot training to fighter combat, Benjamin O. Davis was the mainspring of the Tuskegee Airmen.
AFA Emerging Leaders
The Air Force Association presents its new Emerging Leaders, exceptional individuals who work to support the organization and its members.
Letters
We love letters! Write to us at letters@afa.org. To be published, letters should be timely, relevant and concise. Include your name and location. Letters may be edited for space and the editors have final say on which are published.
Verbatim
Connecting the Dots We can’t see all of the dots. … We have an inability to see everything. … We as U.S. Cyber Command or the National Security Agency may see what is occurring outside of the United States, but...
World
World: Army Aims for “All-dimension- al” Capabilities; USSF Space Systems Command Structure; Counterspace
Capabilities; John T. Correll, 1939- 2021; and more ...
Faces of the Force
Tell us who you think we should highlight here. Write to afmag@afa.org. Alaska Air National Guardsmen from the 176th Wing rescued an injured Iditarod musher March 9, some 136 miles north of Anchorage. Senior Master Sgt. Evan Budd, a rescue...
AFA in Action
AFA’s Wounded Airman Program hosts virtual art therapy events for total wellness support to Airmen, Guardians, and their families.
Namesakes: Hugh Elmendorf
Hugh Merle Elmendorf, after whom USAF named an Alaskan air base.
