Due to the uncertainty of the budget, it is very difficult to predict the size of the fleet in the next year or five, says Major General Dave Tabor, Director of the Deputy Headquarters of the Staff of Plans and Programs. According to Mitchell's Aerospace Research Institute, the total fleet is less than one fifth of its peak size in 1956, when the service numbered 26 104 aircraft.
During this period, only the number of F-84 Thunderjet and F-86 Sabre fighters exceeded 6400, which is much more than in the 2024 financial year, the entire combined air forces fleet consisting of 5032 aircraft. However, aviation opportunities have grown exponentially. But the reduction of the fleet is worried about some legislators and observers.
Defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute Analytical Center Todd Harrison says that the aircraft really have become faster, far more far and deadly, but the reality is that one aircraft can be in just one place. The United States is planning to decommissioate 250 aircraft in the 2025 financial year, but only 121 will come to the system. There are also disputes about writing off A-10 Wartroprog because it was a unique aircraft. "These were phenomenal aircraft at one time.
You don't need to walk very far to find a person who will tell about the impact of A-10 on the battlefield. But reality is that they are simply no longer viable in today's struggle, and of course in tomorrow - Especially at the price related to their preservation, "Dave camp said. Now the US Air Force is at risk of getting into a "deadly spiral of maintenance and modernization". The fleet is old, stretched and in dire need of modernization.
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