The Air Force tanker fleet “did not meet” its availability and mission capable rate goals from fiscal 2019 to 2025, in large part because of parts shortages and delays fielding the KC-46 refueler, according to a Government Accountability Office report released June 10.
Readiness
The Air Force and Space Force would both expand their ranks next year under the Pentagon's proposed $1.5 trillion 2027 budget.
The Air Force is asking Congress for an additional $3.2 billion for spares as part of a larger push to increase aircraft readiness, Vice Chief Gen. John D. Lamontagne told Congress on April 15.
Fiscal 2027 will be the “year of restoring our foundational readiness accounts,” Air Force Undersecretary Matthew Lohmeier promised Feb. 24, with billions of dollars going to spare parts, flying hours, facility maintenance, and more.
Readiness and sustainment are the clear priorities for Air Combat Command boss Gen. Adrian “Elmo” Spain, but the career fighter pilot has three other focuses too: Adapting to the strategic environment, modernizing for the future, and empowering leaders at the operational level. “If we [have to] go fight,...
Air Force senior leaders may have recently cut back on the number of required annual inspections, but they are now requiring units to undergo separate, surprise readiness inspections that will hold commanders accountable for their outfit’s combat readiness, acting Air Force Vice Chief of Staff ...
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.
Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said the service must improve its readiness in his first public remarks as Air Force Chief of Staff, made during a ceremony marking his ascension to the service’s top job Nov. 18.
Wilsbach Is Air Force’s 24th Chief of Staff By Greg Hadley Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach was confirmed as the 24th Air Force Chief of Staff Oct. 30 by unanimous consent. Shortly before, his predecessor, Gen. David W. Allvin, was “clapped”...
A new way of counting the Air Force's fighters gives a better idea of how many are available for action but could undercut how comprehensively they're funded, experts said.
Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach swore in as the 24th Chief of Staff of the Air Force on Nov. 3 and kept his focus simple in his first message to Airmen: the service’s first and foremost priority is to “fly and fix so we are ready ...
Getting Air Force readiness back where it needs to be—something new Secretary Troy E. Meink has quickly made one of his top priorities—will take parts, flying hours, maintainers, and new aircraft. But even if the service fills the funding accounts for those things in its ...