just a couple of snipits from the article:
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...-100m-per-copy
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...-100m-per-copy
First off, we still haven't seen the final draft of the Pentagon's proposed 2020 budget. Things can change, but many of the details we are about to unveil aren't dependent on the exact dollar figure the Air Force sets aside for F-15X. Also, I can't stress enough that, just as I originally discussed in detail, the F-15X is not a Boeing ploy to disrupt the F-35A program. The USAF's top uniformed officer and the CEO of Lockheed have both confirmed this as fact, echoing exactly what I wrote last summer. Many media outlets will continue to blindly pit the two programs against one another as if it is a competition, but it's not. The USAF's target inventory goals for the F-35 will be unaffected by the limited scope of the F-15X initiative.
Once again, don't take my word for this, take it from Lockheed's own CEO, Marillyn Hewson, who said the following during an earnings call last week:
“If they choose to have an order of the F-15, it won’t be at the expense of F-35 quantities... I'm hearing that directly from leadership in the Pentagon, and I think that's an important point for me to make. It's not just our suspicion, but I've been told that directly.”
The Air Force's Chief of Staff, General David Goldfein, offered more detail and further underscored this reality in statements made to Defense News's Jeff Martin:
...Goldfein said Saturday that the decision to possibly refresh the F-15 fleet comes down to the need for more fighters in service, regardless of generation.
“They complement each other,” he said. “They each make each other better.”
When asked if that meant compromising for quantity over quality, he said that would not be the case.
“We’ve got to refresh the F-15C fleet because I can’t afford to not have that capacity to do the job and the missions.” Goldfein explained. “That’s what this is all about. If we’re refreshing the F-15C fleet, as we’re building up the F-35 fleet, this is not about any kind of a trade.”
He added that Air Force needs to buy 72 fighters a year to get to the amount they need in the future — and to drive average aircraft age down from 28 years to 15 years. And while Goldfein might want all 72 to be fifth generation F-35s, budgetary concerns likely won’t let that happen.
“If we had the money, those would be 72 F-35s. But we’ve gotta look at this from a cost/business case.” he explained. “An F-15 will never be an F-35. Never. But I need capacity.”
Once again, don't take my word for this, take it from Lockheed's own CEO, Marillyn Hewson, who said the following during an earnings call last week:
“If they choose to have an order of the F-15, it won’t be at the expense of F-35 quantities... I'm hearing that directly from leadership in the Pentagon, and I think that's an important point for me to make. It's not just our suspicion, but I've been told that directly.”
The Air Force's Chief of Staff, General David Goldfein, offered more detail and further underscored this reality in statements made to Defense News's Jeff Martin:
...Goldfein said Saturday that the decision to possibly refresh the F-15 fleet comes down to the need for more fighters in service, regardless of generation.
“They complement each other,” he said. “They each make each other better.”
When asked if that meant compromising for quantity over quality, he said that would not be the case.
“We’ve got to refresh the F-15C fleet because I can’t afford to not have that capacity to do the job and the missions.” Goldfein explained. “That’s what this is all about. If we’re refreshing the F-15C fleet, as we’re building up the F-35 fleet, this is not about any kind of a trade.”
He added that Air Force needs to buy 72 fighters a year to get to the amount they need in the future — and to drive average aircraft age down from 28 years to 15 years. And while Goldfein might want all 72 to be fifth generation F-35s, budgetary concerns likely won’t let that happen.
“If we had the money, those would be 72 F-35s. But we’ve gotta look at this from a cost/business case.” he explained. “An F-15 will never be an F-35. Never. But I need capacity.”
Air Force Magazine recently inquired to Air Force Undersecretary Matt Donovan about the F-15X. Although he wouldn't address the initiative directly, he did paint a picture of the logic behind it:
“History being what it is, and because we never quite got to the procurement ramp we needed to” on the F-35, “we’re in a bit of a pickle,” Donovan said. “We don’t have the capacity we need” in the fighter force. Donovan’s speech to the AFA audience focused heavily on the need to increase the size of the Air Force to 386 combat squadrons in order to fulfill the National Defense Strategy of engaging China and Russia in Great Power Competition.
He noted that, under original plans, USAF expected to have 736 F-35s by now, but “we have 174, ... so … we need to increase our fighter procurement, replacement rate.”
“History being what it is, and because we never quite got to the procurement ramp we needed to” on the F-35, “we’re in a bit of a pickle,” Donovan said. “We don’t have the capacity we need” in the fighter force. Donovan’s speech to the AFA audience focused heavily on the need to increase the size of the Air Force to 386 combat squadrons in order to fulfill the National Defense Strategy of engaging China and Russia in Great Power Competition.
He noted that, under original plans, USAF expected to have 736 F-35s by now, but “we have 174, ... so … we need to increase our fighter procurement, replacement rate.”
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