The Air Force's has outlined the states and bases impacted in itsfiscal 2016 budget proposal, like the previous budget, calls for eliminating with active dutyA-10 units across the service while giving new missions to facing the biggest cuts whileAir National Guard and Air Force Reserve units.
will see new missions in the coming years
The service on Friday released details on how those and other changes would affect bases stateside and overseas.
"The force structure actions in this budget represent a careful balance between readiness today and tomorrow. World events have increased demand on our Air Force in the near term, but we can't afford to lose sight of tomorrow's threats," Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said in a news release. "Honoring our commitment to the combatant commanders to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control and close air support requires not only that we provide those capabilities today, but also that we are ready to provide them in the fights of the future."
The plan outline, released Friday today, includes changes to these fleets:
A-10. The Air Force wants to retire all of its 283 A-10s over four years, beginning in fiscal 2016. Active-duty units that would will lose their aircraft with no follow-on mission are at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; Moody Air Force Base, Georgia; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; and overseas in Germany will lose their aircraft with no follow-on mission. The Reserve A-10 units at Davis-Monthan and Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, would will receive F-16s in fiscal 2019. All Air National Guard A-10 units would will receive new missions. The unit at Gowen Field, Idaho, would will transition to an associated F-15E unit with Mountain Home Air Force Base in fiscal 2016. The unit at Martin State Airport in Maryland would will receive eight C-130Js in fiscal 2018. Fort Wayne, Indiana, would will receive 21 F-16s in fiscal 2019. Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, would will receive eight KC-135s in fiscal 2017.
U-2. The Air Force would will keep its U-2 unit at Beale Air Force Base, California, flying until 2019 when it expects to receive additional RQ-4 Global Hawks with an enhanced sensor payload. In 2019, the base would will lose its 32 U-2s along with 11 associated T-38s used by pilots there in training. The base would will also add a Global Hawk Reserve associate unit.
E-3. The Air Force would will retire seven of its E-3 Sentrys in 2019 at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The unit is active with a Reserve association, and the Rreserve unit would will receive four KC-135s in fiscal 2019. The service is delaying the E-3 retirement to "sustain command and control capacity" through 2019.
E-8C. The Air Force would is retaining five E-8C Joint STARS at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, while the modernization plan for the fleet would be is delayed until 2023.
EC-130H. The seven active-duty EC-130Hs at Davis-Monthan would will be cut in fiscal 2016, while the service would will keep eight of the Compass Call aircraft "to continue to provide support to the essential Combatant Command requirements." according to the Air Force. The service is looking to develop "alternative capabilities to fully replace" the Compass Call fleet, but there is no current timeline for the replacement.
C-130s. The service says it has too many C-130s, but has been directed by Congress to keep its Hercules flying. The fiscal 2016 proposal seeks to cut 28 of the its aging C-130Hs, mostly flown by the Air National Guard, by 2019 and to will keep 300 of the H and J models. However, the locations have not yet been determined.
The Air Force is studying recommendations by the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force on how to balance its mobility fleet across the active and duty, reserve components and guard. The service said it will finalize "its mission area and force composition analysis in on the coming months."
The proposal would will cut National Guard C-130s in Puerto Rico, where the unit will transfer to RC-26 Metroliner aircraft transferred from Oklahoma. Two C-130s from Oklahoma will transfer to Missouri, where they will be used for training.
The 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard would will receive two C-130s for training. The unit flies specially equipped C-130s with skis for arctic missions, and would will use standard H models for training.
F-15Cs. The Air Force wants to will cut 31 of its F-15Cs, most from RAF Lakenheath, England. Air National Guard units in Oregon, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Florida and California would will also lose F-15Cs, but in fewer numbers than the service planned last year.
The Lakenheath F-15s would will fly until 2017, to meet requirements under a fiscal 2016 European Reassurance Initiative.
RC-26. The fiscal 2015 budget set up an MC-12 Air National Guard unit in Oklahoma, which had been flying RC-26 Metroliners. As a result, nine RC-26s would will head to Puerto Rico in 2016 to replace C-130s, and two would will go to New Mexico for a formal training unit.
