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E D U C A T E. A D V O C A T E. S U P P O R T. Why Are Air Forces necessary?. Air Force Provide Air Dominance Dominate the skies so all other types of air and joint operations can function at peak effectiveness No ground forces killed by enemy aircraft since June 1953
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E D U C A T E A D V O C A T E S U P P O R T
Why Are Air Forces necessary? • Air Force Provide Air Dominance Dominate the skies so all other types of air and joint operations can function at peak effectiveness • No ground forces killed by enemy aircraft since June 1953 • Dropping supplies with pin point accuracy depends on air dominance • Allow the operations of unmanned systems • Allowed allies to breakout of Normandy in WW II
The Aging Fleet • Air Force aircraft are increasingly expensive to maintain and less reliable to fly • Aircraft within the fleet average 25 years in age with some dating back to the Eisenhower administration • Currently only52 percent of the fleet is fully mission capable • Since Desert Storm, the Air Force has been flying an average of 2.2 million hours per year with an inventory 32 % smaller and 42% older.
Aircraft grounded/restricted2008 • F-15C - 9 Grounded/318 restricted • F-15E – 219 restricted • F-16C – 23 Grounded/17 restricted • B-52H – 20 grounded • KC-135R – 21 grounded • C-5A – 2 grounded
Air Force proposal for 2009 • Retire 137 F-15s • Retire 177 F-16s • Retire 9 A-10s