Thunderbirds and grounded units fly again

The remainder of the 2013 season is still cancelled, but the Thunderbirds, and the other grounded Air Force units (see list of units here) have begun flying again for now. The Air Force moved some $423 million from other projects, into the flying budget (projects include new missiles, new MC-130 aircraft, and upgrades to existing aircraft, including the B-1 and F-15). It will take 60-90 days to get pilots back up to combat qualified status, depending on how long they've been grounded.

Today, the US Air Force announced that squadrons grounded since April, from combat units to the famous Thunderbirds, had the funding to fly again – for now. Congress had given the service permission to move some $423 million from other programs into the training budget, enough to keep planes flying until October 1st, when the next fiscal year begins and the military’s money problems may start all over again.

To get the money for that short-term fix, however, the Air Force had to cut back on long-term investments. That includes almost $20 million in new missiles, $50 million in new C-130 transports (mostly the souped-up Special Force version, the MC-130), and about $70 million in upgrades for existing aircraft, from B-1B bombers to F-15 fighters. That’s particularly troubling at a time when most Air Force fighters were built during the Reagan buildup and are wearing out, with one 27-year-old F-15 literally breaking apart in flight back in 2007. (Bombers, on average, are even older, although they aren’t flown as hard). But the service bit that bullet and decided near-term combat readiness had to be the top priority for limited dollars.

“I think they feel a sense of responsibility to be prepared to ‘fight tonight,’ knowing that the longer they are grounded, the more and more resources it’s going to take to dig out of the hole,” one Congressional aide told BreakingDefense’s Colin Clark. “But it also is a double-edged sword because it shows that they can ‘live’ under sequestration, albeit just in the short term.”

“Sequestration” is the term of art for the cuts imposed on federal spending by the Budget Control Act of 2011, with half the bill — $500 billion over 10 years — falling on the Department of Defense. Certainly, the Pentagon could become more efficient and save taxpayer dollars. Just as certainly, not training for combat is the least efficient and, for that matter, most dangerous way to save money you could think of.

breakingdefense.com...

reply to post by Zaphod58


Hmm, I'm hoping that getting a solo demonstration, like the F-22, has less of a runway, pardon the pun, to get back to flight display status and actually performs. The Abbotsford int'l airshow is scheduled in early August and I bought 5 front row seats for the scheduled F-22 show,(no refunds).

Here's hoping.....

reply to post by nwtrucker


It's possible. I don't know if they'll do it, or if they've freed up that much money, but they may. They could use it as a training flight (cross country, in flight refueling, and high G maneuvers).

reply to post by Zaphod58


I understood that the F-22 demo team took an active combat ready F-22 from the closest Base and took that unit to the show.

If true, then I'd guess it would be an Elmendorf AB unit which would be around 600 air miles, They've flown 15s to Abbotsford from Elmendorf before for both static and air displays a couple of years back. That's where I talked to a 15 driver who described the trainer that got the 22.

Much trash talk, red faces and beer consumed that day......

I remember a checkride I had once with the thunderbirds as the receivers. We didn't know they were going to be them when we took off. Got my automatic contact and my TMO contact out of the way and got kicked out of the seat by the Evaluator, because he hadn't been able to refuel them in 15 years.

I do hope that the f-22 goes to some airshows and actually shows people what that plane can do. I've seen them in flight so many times, and i think that we will not know the full abilities of that jet until its retired or replaced by newer technology. After all, who needs dog-fighting when you can fire off a missile without being seen 100 miles away? Leave the dog-fighting to the F-35.

I was seriously disappointed when they got grounded. They were suppose to be here this month. Was planning on taking my little boy to see them.