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The USAF has decided it has enough money to keep the U-2 after years of trying to retire the ISR aircraft. Source: Jamie Hunter
Key Points
- USAF decides against retiring U-2 spy plane
- Service said it has enough money to keep U-2 and Global Hawk UAV
Major General Jim Martin, USAF deputy assistant secretary for budget, told reporters 23 May at the Pentagon the service plans to keep the U-2 well into the future.
"There is not a retirement date for the U-2," Maj Gen Martin said.
Much like the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt close air support (CAS) aircraft, the USAF has decided it is flush enough to keep the U-2, which it previously wanted to retire in favour of using the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with upgraded sensors for ISR missions. Maj Gen Martin said the decision to pursue U-2 retirement was made back in February 2014 with the fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015) budget request when the USAF had, what he called, a USD5 billion bill to pay.
Maj Gen Martin said the world changed in August 2014, likely alluding to the Russian invasion of Crimea, and the USAF, accordingly, requested a budget to meet today's threat as well as try to maintain balance for the future.
"With more resources, we can keep both around," Maj Gen Martin said. "We need both to meet the demand for ISR."
The Pentagon released its FY 2018 budget request 23 May. The USAF requested USD183 billion, roughly 6.9% more than the USD171.2 billion it received in FY 2017. The Pentagon requested about USD639 billion: USD574.5 billion in the base budget and USD64.6 billion in overseas contingency operations (OCO), or wartime, spending.
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http://www.janes.com/article/70720/pentagon-budget-2018-us-air-force-to-keep-u-2-spy-plane
