Maj. Gen. Frank Faykes, a senior Air Force budget official, says that the Air Force was forced to levy the upcoming 40,000-person drawdown to pay to modernize weapon systems as DOD’s budget flattens. Faykes laid blame for Fiscal 2007 budget pressures on the deficit, the rising cost of entitlements, and the migration [of funds] to domestic accounts. He said that DOD took $4 billion from the Air Force to pay for non-defense items. Currently, Faykes said, the “big pain” is the soaring cost of fuel in the operations and maintenance account. USAF added $1.1 billion just to pay for aviation jet fuel in 2007.
Making the Air Force’s Case for Big Fighter Cuts
May 14, 2021
To ensure it can compete—and win—against peer adversaries like China and Russia in the future, the Air Force must divest its aging equipment and instead invest in more capable and advanced aircraft, said Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration, and requirements. The challenge is…