The Air Force’s planning director, Lt. Gen. Raymond Johns told attendees at AFA’s Air & Space Conference on Tuesday afternoon that the $20 billion annual shortfall the service has identified in its budget undercuts the service’s ability to reach its Quadrennial Defense Review-mandated goal of organizing, training, and equipping 86 combat wing equivalents. Without a funding infusion, the service will only be able to equip 78 combat wings, and “that’s risk,” he said. The money needs to start flowing now—Johns said the budget disconnect begins with a $9 billion shortfall in Fiscal 2009.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
