Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) believes the Pentagon over the past two years has strayed from its long-run effort to introduce stability in major acquisition efforts by laying out procurement plans for USAF’s new F-22A stealth fighter that “have been anything but stable.” At a March 16 House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on tactical air, Chairman Weldon asserted in his opening remarks that the 2007 budget proposal deviates “significantly” from what Congress had expected last year. He wanted answers to how the new plan would “affect Air Force capabilities, costs of F-22s, and the industrial base that supports this production.”
The United States Air Force is flying less than historic norms and funding for acquisition and readiness is on a path to further hollow out this too small and old force to that is incapable of sustaining an enduring combat air campaign.
