If the Air Force is to replenish its depleted inventory of precision weapons, it must have a more stable funding stream, uniformed acquisition chief Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch said on March 16. “If we really want to build up” the precision weapons inventory, “longer term, and if we want to grow farther than where we are today, I think we’re going to have to make a commitment to industry” so they know it’s safe to invest in more workers and production lines, Bunch said at an AFA-sponsored, Air Force breakfast in Arlington, Va. “What we can’t do is, ‘dollars in, dollars out, dollars in, dollars out,’” in a chronic seesaw of funding. “If we really want industry to do this, we’re going to have to have a stable line of funding for weapons for years to come so they know it’s worthwhile to put that investment in there so they can get a return. And I want them to get a return, I don’t want them to lose money.”
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.