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The Air Force is taking a long look down the road at buying and fielding new airplanes. Mandated by Congress, the “Aircraft Investment Plan” maps out how many planes the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy plan to buy through 2020 and sets goals for 2021-2040. It does not include helicopters. The report calls for a joint approach to long-range strike and electronic warfare but does not drastically alter the Air Force’s announced plans for its two main acquisitions this decade — the F-35 Lightning II and KC-X tanker By aircraft, what the report foresees for the Air Force: Combat — Bomber: The Air Force could spend $2 billion to $4 billion a year to develop a new long-range strike aircraft by 2020. Whether the plane will have a pilot onboard or will fly at supersonic speeds is undecided. The report says: “A study is underway to identify the right mix of manned and unmanned technologies … and to determine the right balance between range, payload, speed, stealth, and onboard sensors.” Until the new bomber arrives, the Air Force will keep about 160 B-52 Stratofortresses, B-1B Lancers and B-2 Spirit bombers. — F-22 Raptor: The service will spend $1.9 billion to upgrade its 180 fighter jets with improved communications and avionics gear. Retirement of the Raptors could begin in 2025. — F-35: The Air Force is in line to buy 602 F-35s through 2020 at a cost of about $70 billion. Two-thirds arrive in 2016 or later. The Air Force fleet will eventually total 1,763 jets. — MQ-9 Reapers: Forecasts call for the service to buy 372 of the attack and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles from 2011 through 2018. The price tag: about $820 million. Later models will have an electronic warfare capability. — RQ-4 Global Hawks: Four to five remote-controlled jets will arrive each year through 2017. There is no projection for later years. The report did not offer an overall cost for the RQ-4s; for 2011, the Air Force wants $737 million for four Global Hawks, their payloads and logistics support. Mobility — KC-X: The service is set to spend about $30 billion through 2020 to develop and buy 109 new tankers. — Intra-theater airlift: The Air Force should continue to buy C-130J Hercules to replace older C-130 E and H models. The study projects buying 63 C-130Js through 2020 for about $6 billion. — Strategic airlift: The service wants to maintain an fleet of 314 large cargo planes, a mix of 223 C-17s and 91 C-5s. The report recommends the Air Force begin development of a new cargo jet starting in 2015.

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Top enlisted Airman visits Maxwell-Gunter members

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Thumb drives/flash media still prohibited on Air Force network

Video: Total Force success

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The top officers of the Navy and Marine Corps said Wednesday that they oppose repealing the 17-year-old policy banning gays from serving openly in the military until a one-year study on its effects is completed by the Pentagon. Navy Chief of Navy Operations Adm. Gary Roughead and Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway and made the point during a budget hearing before the House Armed Services Committee. “That needs to be done, because only with that information can we talk about the force we have,” Roughead said of the proposed study. “We need to proceed down that path.” Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for the study earlier this month while voicing his personal support for the repeal of the policy, a flash point for some in the military. Conway agreed with Roughhead, saying the “central issue” for the Marine Corps needs to be keeping the force ready to engage in ongoing military operations in Afghanistan. “I would argue that we’ve done a pretty job of bringing that to pass,” Conway said. The testimony of the two officers comes one day after the top officers in the Army and Air Force weighed in on repealing “don't ask, don't tell.” Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee he had “serious concerns” about overturning the policy. He added that he does support a yearlong study, however. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz circled around the issue. “This not the time to perturb the force … without careful deliberations,” Schwartz told the House Armed Services Committee. Related reading: Army chief of staff opposes quick change in gay policy Study argues for quick repeal of gay policy

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Roughead: Study needed before DADT repeal

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gay and lesbian airmen who disclose their sexual orientation will be dismissed even though the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law is under review by the Pentagon, according to the service’s top civilian leader. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley made the proclamation to reporters after he mentioned the review and possible repeal of the law during his keynote speech Thursday at the winter conference of the Air Force Association here. “We are continuing to process those cases,” Donley replied when asked whether the service would wait to act until the Defense Department finishes its assessment, which should be in 45 days. Donley declined to discuss specific cases such as the potential dismissal of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, an F-16E Strike Eagle weapons systems officer who was outed by an acquaintance. The review, ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, will address whether an airman who is outed violates the ban on gays serving openly. The number of airmen dismissed because of their sexual orientation has steadily declined in the past few years, Donley said. The Air Force let go about 100 airmen in 2006, compared with about 75 in 2009, he said. In his State of the Union address, President Obama told a joint session of Congress that he wants the ban lifted. “The president as commander in chief has answered the question of whether this legislative change will be pursued, and the answer is ‘yes,’” Donley told the several hundred airmen who came to hear him speak. “We know this will be an issue of interest to all airmen and is certain to generate much discussion.” Donley warned the audience that the Air Force cannot be “pulled into the political debate” and that it should “add light and not heat to the discussion.” Beyond legal issues, Donley said, the Air Force will advise the Pentagon on how repeal of the law could affect unit cohesion and military readiness. “Congress will be listening to what the military has to say,” he said. On other matters, Donley said: • Airmen flying remote-controlled airplanes will outnumber F-16 pilots by the end of the year. The shift comes with the Air Force’s decision to retire more than 100 F-16s and to buy more than 50 unmanned aircraft. • Congress members will push to buy more C-17 Globemasters in 2011, even though Air Force leaders think the service has enough strategic airlifters and do not want more than the 223 planes already paid for. Money for more C-17s would simply mean less money for other programs. • The service will announce specifications for the new air refueling tanker by the end of February. The announcement of the winning bid likely will not come until August or September. The Air Force had hoped to announce its choice in June.

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Chief master sergeant of the Air Force shares vision for enlisted Airmen

For one Air Force family stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea, the service’s focus on the Year of the Air Force Family means adopting an Ethiopian child and sponsoring another.

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Face of Defense: Airman Reaches Out to Ethiopian Children

The Air Force wasn’t spared from the nor’easter that pounded the mid-Atlantic over the weekend, dumped more than 2 feet of snow in areas and paralyzed the region.Operations officers at Dover Air Force Base, Del., scrambled to find missions for its C-5s and C-17s to protect them from the blizzard conditions. The last plane lifted off Friday afternoon and didn’t return until Monday, said 1st Lt. Brian Maguire, a Dover spokesman.On Sunday, airmen dug out the flight line covered in 2 feet of now with drifts piled up by wind gusts that reached 45 knots, Maguire said.The storm shut down most non-emergency operations at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Eric Sharmen, a spokesman for the 316th Wing at Andrews, said. As of Monday afternoon, there was no official word whether the base would re-open Tuesday for normal operations.Bolling Air Force Base, Md., also remained closed to non-emergency operations. Repeated calls to Bolling’s public affairs office were not answered, and it’s unclear when it will re-open, especially with another snow storm forecasted to reach Washington, D.C., beginning Tuesday afternoon.In West Virginia, the 167th Airlift Wing at Martinsburg canceled weekend training set for Feb. 6 and 7 and hopes to make up the lost days this weekend. Guard members on duty helped local emergency agencies by dispatching the wing’s four-wheel drive Humvees to reach people stranded in their homes by 20-plus inches of snow.Other bases in the Mid-Atlantic region on the fringes of the snow storm reported few disruptions. On Monday, flight operations were back to normal at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and McGuire Air Force Base, N.J.

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Warfighters to meet in virtual battlespace at Virtual Flag 10-2