Upgrading Fleet Still Top Priority

For many years, the Air Force has kept its eye on the same procurement prize: buying new airplanes and upgrading old ones. In the service's proposed $34 billion procurement budget for fiscal 2004, more than one out of every three dollars is slated for aircraft. That trend will continue at least through

Marvin Sambur, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, says the service faces a "procurement death spiral" if it does not invest heavily in a new fleet. Most of its aircraft have been flying for close to two decades, some far longer. Sambur says an older fleet leads to high maintenance bills that drain dollars that could be used to develop new weapons.

"We haven't turned the corner yet [on upgrading the air fleet] but have taken steps to get it under control," says Sambur. In fiscal 2004, the service proposes spending $5.2 billion on the F/A-22, $3.6 billion on C-17 cargo aircraft, and $2.1 billion on the Joint Strike Fighter.