Fiscal 2022 Budget: What’s On The Pentagon’s Radar

The Pentagon and Joint Staff have said they are reviewing the military’s mix of tactical aircraft, but the F-35 has come under scrutiny from congressional defense leaders, and even Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown, Jr., made waves in February when he told defense reporters he wants to moderate the amount the service will use the F-35. “It’s like your Ferrari,” Brown said. “You don’t drive your Ferrari to work every day. You only drive it on Sundays.”

The U.S. Air Force’s mix of aerial refueling tankers continues to be scrutinized. The Air Force has said it will keep pressing to retire aging KC-10 and KC-135 aircraft, but Congress has been reluctant to do so until ongoing development issues with the Boeing KC-46A and its remote vision system are fully resolved.

The Air Force is studying multiple types of replacements for the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9, which has for 20 years conducted intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR) missions for the force. Its MQ-Next program is already generating interest from industry, seeking ISR, strike open architectures, automation and digital engineering capabilities.

The Pentagon will be considering the nuclear enterprise and its command, control and communications system. But members of Congress have already targeted the nuclear sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM) and its low-yield nuclear warhead. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) have cosponsored the Nuclear SLCM Ban Act that would halt research, development, procurement and deployment of the weapon system.

The potential for conflict in the Pacific is one of the top threats fueling U.S. defense policy. And one of the key priorities of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) is pursuing a persistent air and missile defense capability on Guam that can address current and future threats. PACOM Commander Adm. Philip Davidson tells Congress that a Guam Defense System (GDS) could draw on existing programs including: the Aegis destroyers, solid-state radars such as Raytheon’s AN/SPY-6 or Lockheed Martin’s SPY-7, Lockheed’s Mk. 41 Vertical Launch System and Aegis Ashore missile defense system, and Raytheon’s SM-3 and SM-6 missiles. “The GDS would provide a foundation for a joint solution to this warfighting problem,” Davidson said in testimony. “No individual service can include decentralized architecture, automated processes using standard fire control functions across the Joint Force and a force-wide perspective in managing resources.”

The Feb. 17 memo from Hicks suggests reductions to certain areas, but it specifically says it will look to accelerate autonomous and remotely crewed systems. The Air Force Research Laboratory plans to start flight-testing the Skyborg autonomous control system this summer at an Orange Flag exercise. Boeing, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. and Kratos Unmanned Systems are all developing vehicles for the service. But AFRL Commander Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle cautions that the effort is moving slowly. “We’re not in the walk or run stage in this program,” Pringle said. “Skyborg is not going to be a weapon-school graduate wingman anytime soon.”

The Pentagon is gearing up to invest in planning for climate change. The military’s facilities and equipment have been affected in recent years by extreme storms—such as flooding in 2019 that hit Offutt AFB in Nebraska, where Boeing E-4B Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft are based.