Gen. Ronald Keys, ACC commander, thinks the $50 billion requested by the Air Force for the Fiscal 2008 emergency supplemental would be used for force recapitalization—primarily to offset loss and wear from operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. He told defense reporters in Washington Thursday that the Air Force has “lost a lot of airplanes” and needs to replace them, but there’s no money. Keys said ACC by itself expends about $2.6 billion a year in supplemental funding for the war on terror. When asked about USAF’s revised supplemental for Fiscal 2007, Keys maintained that discussions are ongoing and would provide no details.
The Air Force is seeking funding to let its pilots fly a little more than 1.1 million hours in fiscal 2027, which would be the most in about four years. But even if Airmen actually do fly all 1.1 million hours, it would still be short of the 1.3 million…