DefenseNews.com
• Cristina Stassis
The U.S. Air Force is confronting a $14 billion shortfall in sustainment funding as supply-chain constraints and maintenance challenges pressure force readiness. Closing the gap will require additional resources to support ongoing operations and address persistent logistics and sustainment requirements.
Defense Budgets & Spending
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The U.S. Air Force is confronting a $14 billion shortfall in sustainment funding as supply-chain constraints and maintenance challenges pressure force readiness. Closing the gap will require additional resources to support ongoing operations and address persistent logistics and sustainment requirements.
The U.S. Air Force has priced the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program at $20.2 billion as it advances engine and radar upgrades intended to keep the strategic bomber operational into the 2050s. The service is also working to recover schedule on the two largest elements of the modernization effort.
Anduril executives said the company cannot start work on a production contract for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft without funding in the fiscal 2027 budget. The company expects production assets to be moving through its facilities in 2027, but says internal investment alone is insufficient.
Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Doug Schiess said the continuing resolution extending through Oct. 1 is protecting near-term funding but creating uncertainty for roughly one in 10 service programs. He urged lawmakers to resolve the budget impasse and approve a full-year appropriation.
Infrastructure required to support the B-21 Raider at Ellsworth Air Force Base has risen to about $2 billion, double the U.S. Air Force’s 2021 estimate. The increase comes as the base prepares to receive its first bomber in 2027 and become the program’s first operational location.
High activity
At the first International Space Summit in Paris, EU officials framed space as central to Europe’s security, with Commissioner Andrius Kubilius proposing that half of the bloc’s €131 billion seven-year defense and space budget go to space programs. France and Germany emphasized cooperation despite unresolved differences.
The United States has finalized a $4 billion military financing loan for Poland. Warsaw has not disclosed how the funds will be allocated, but the financing could support the acquisition of 32 additional F-35s tied to Poland’s air-superiority requirements.
Defense startup Covenant has emerged from stealth with more than $250 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund and Lux Capital. The company says its Anthem weapon has completed 200 flights and is targeting U.S. production of 5,000 units annually from a Texas factory.
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