The task of keeping the Air Force’s critical E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft relevant over the next several years as the service implements its Block 40/45 hardware and software upgrade just got a whole lot harder. The office maintaining the E-3’s 1970s-vintage Jovial computer code just put up an out-of-business sign, citing “lack of funding.” All would be well if the Air Force could speed up the upgrade, but an Air Combat Command official says the 40/45 funding profile is “very cumbersome.” In test now, the program enters limited-rate production in 2009 and full-rate in 2012, but it would be “another nine to 10 years” before full fielding, says John Shelton, an ACC E-3 program official. And, such a long profile almost certainly leads to rising costs. The real problem, of course, is the Pentagon decision to curtail the AWACS replacement.
Now Enlisted Airmen Can Stay in Uniform Longer
Dec. 8, 2023
The Air Force is extending the amount of time Airmen can spend at most enlisted ranks by two years, as the service looks to combat sluggish recruiting and balance its force structure. The High Year of Tenure (HYT) program sets limits on how long service members can spend in each grade…