17 USAF Combat Air Squadrons Grounded

09/04/2013 by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

Cost-cutting measures imposed on the US Armed Forces have resulted in the USAF having to ground 17 combat squadrons with effect from 9 April 2013, Defense News has reported, citing official documentation.

These squadrons will either stop flying immediately or, if they're currently on deployment, then be grounded on their return to US soil until at least the end of the current fiscal year.

Included in the USAF combat air squadron grounding are the 94th Fighter Squadron's Boeing F-22 Raptors, which are currently on their way back to the US after participating in a recent South Korean military exercise.

Grounded USAF Squadrons

Other grounded USAF squadrons include the 37th and 34th bomb squadrons - equipped with Rockwell B-1B Lancers - and affected in the same way are the 2nd and 5th bomb wings' Boeing B-52H Stratofortresses and the 492nd and 494th fighter squadrons' Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles.

On top of that, additional squadrons' activities have also been scaled back to achieve what's termed as ‘basic mission capability', while the USAF Thunderbirds aerial demonstration has also been stood down from today onwards.

The US military sequestration measures took effect on 1 March 2013, after no way to cut costs could be found during the preceding weeks. Consequently, the USAF's flying hours budget was slashed by $591m for the 2013 fiscal year months still remaining. The 241,496 flying hours left over have been reallocated across the board, creating a mix of combat-ready and partly-active squadrons.

Combat Air Squadrons Grounding

The USAF combat air squadrons grounding amounts to a potentially significant reduction in US military airpower, at a time when North Korea is becoming increasingly vocally aggressive.

With well over 5,000 aircraft in its employ, the USAF remains the world's largest air arm. Established in 1947 (previously, it was the USAAF - the US Army's flying element), it exists to ‘fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace'.

According to figures published prior to the introduction of sequestration, more than 330,000 military personnel serve within the USAF, along with more than 180,000 military personnel. These numbers are supplemented by some 71,000 reserve personnel and 106,000 air guard personnel.