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ANAers!!
There has been a great deal of
attention on the Navy Strike-Fighter inventory issues. The
following report uses very strong language in expressing
congressional intent.
Take this to the public! Let our
elected representatives know of our interest in and
dedication to Naval Aviation!
VR,
Dutch
The
FY10 NDAA has posted the FY10 NDAA Report to accompany H.R.
2647. Links to the text of the bill, committee report and
transparency tables follow excerpts containing "the
strongest ever" strike fighter inventory shortfall report
language clearly stating the House's desire to buy
additional Super Hornets in a multi-year procurement.
Text
of the bill [PDF]:
http://www.rules.house.gov/111/LegText/111_hr2647_armedsvc.pdf
Committee report [PDF]:
http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/FY10NDAAReportLangFINAL.pdf
Transparency tables [PDF]:
http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/HASCTransparencyTableJune2009.pdf
<<FY10HouseNDAAReport.pdf>>
Here
is the very strong language:
Items
of Special Interest
Department of the Navy strike-fighter inventory
The
budget request contained $2.7 billion for procurement of 22
EA-18G and 9 F/A-18EF aircraft, and $4.5 billion for
procurement of 20F-35B/C aircraft for the Department of the
Navy. This represents a reduction from the fiscal year
2009 program of record of nine F/A-18E/F aircraft and an
increase of two F-35C aircraft.
The
committee is concerned regarding the current and forecasted
strike-fighter aircraft inventory of the Department of the
Navy. The committee understands that the Department of the
Navy has a fiscal year 2009 strike-fighter inventory
shortfall of 110 aircraft and predicts a fiscal year 2010
shortfall of 152 aircraft, with a potential peak
strike-fighter shortfall of 312 aircraft by fiscal year
2018. The committee believes such drastic shortfalls in
strike-fighter inventory are unacceptable.
The
committee understands that a variety of factors cause the
current and projected strike-fighter shortfall. Those
factors include a fiscal year 2002 decision to reduce
F/A-18A through D inventory by 88
aircraft, a reduction in the program of record quantity for
F-35B/C by 409 aircraft, delays in development
of the F-35B/C program, and F/A 18A through D aircraft
reaching forecasted service life sooner than
expected.
The
committee remains unconvinced that naval strike-fighter
shortfalls should be viewed against the
totality of Department of Defense strike-fighter
inventory. The capabilities of the naval strike-fighter
force
are inherent in the capability of the aircraft carrier as a
strike platform and, as such, force structure requirements
for naval aviation must be viewed as those required to
support sufficient carrier
air wings (CVW) to match the number of statutorily mandated
aircraft carriers.
The
committee supports procurement of additional F/A-18E/F
aircraft to mitigate the naval strike-fighter inventory
shortfall and believes that procurement of additional
F/A-18E/F aircraft through a multi-year procurement
contract is more cost effective and prudent than procuring
new aircraft through an
annual contract or applying $25.6 million of additional
fiscal resources per aircraft to extend the
service life of the F/A-18A through D fleet. Therefore,
the committee includes a provision in title I of
this Act that would authorize the Secretary of the Navy to
enter into a multi-year procurement contract
for the purchase of additional F/A-18E/F and EA-18G
aircraft and also includes a provision in title X of this
Act that expresses a sense of Congress that the Department
of the Navy should maintain no less than
ten carrier air wings with no less than 44 strike fighters
each. Additionally, the committee directs the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office to submit a
report to the congressional defense committees
by February 2, 2010, that evaluates the operational
effectiveness and costs of extending and
modernizing the service-life of F/A-18A through D aircraft
to 10,000 flight hours versus procuring, either through an
annual or multi-year procurement contract, additional
F/A-18E/F aircraft beyond the current program of record.
The
committee recommends an increase of $108.0 million for
advanced procurement of economic order quantity items in
order to achieve the benefits associated with a multi-year
procurement contract
and also recommends an increase of $56.0 million for
support items associated with the EA-18G aircraft. Lastly,
the committee fully expects the Secretary of the Navy to
promptly negotiate and enter into a
multi-year procurement contract for additional F/A-18E/F
and EA-18G aircraft to mitigate the strike-fighter
shortfall.
HR
2647, the FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act, has
been reported out of the House Armed Services Committee.
The Rules Committee amendment deadline is 7:30pm on Monday,
22 June.
No final word on when Rules will meet, but the current
expectation is that the bill will be on
the floor the later half of next week.
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