Before Congress will release funds for USAF to retire legacy fighters (see Congress Wants Legacy Fighter Reports), it wants USAF to report on the impacts to training and operational missions when USAF shares airport facilities with commercial operations. Kingsley Airfield, Ore., where USAF wants to shift F-15 training from Tyndall AFB, Fla., is one such co-use facility, with the Oregon Air National Guard sharing Klamath Falls Airport with its commercial operator. Congress broadened its interest beyond Kingsley, however, directing USAF to identify all airfields that share runways with commercial operations. Lawmakers have linked this third report to the ones specifically targeting USAF’s legacy fighter retirement plans, stipulating that “no funds may be obligated on executing the Combat Air Force restructure until submission to the congressional defense committees of all directed reports.”
No matter what happens with the Nunn-McCurdy review of the Sentinel ICBM program, the nation must have a land-based element of its nuclear triad, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief William LaPlante told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.