Photo: USAF
Mar 7, 2012 By Jen DiMascio - aerospace daily and defense report
The staff of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee is going to delve into the details of the U.S. Air Force decision to stop production of the Global Hawk Block 30 and put 18 of the unmanned aerial vehicles in storage, the panel’s top Democrat says.
Fast becoming one of the most unpopular budget decisions of fiscal 2013 on Capitol Hill, the Air Force’s move to mothball its high-tech UAVs in favor of maintaining its fleet of U-2 intelligence-gathering aircraft drew fire from a number of members of the powerful spending committee at a March 6 hearing.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Secretary Mike Donley have pointed out that the service stands to save $2.5 billion because of the decision during the next five years. Schwartz said March 5 that the U-2’s electro-optic/infrared sensor and signal capabilities are better and that reliability on the Global Hawk is an issue.
Rep. Norm Dicks (Wash.), the top Democrat on the spending committee, said putting the aircraft in a hangar “is not acceptable to this member,” suggesting that the Air Force find another taker—either special forces or NATO.
“If the Air Force isn’t going to use them, we’ve got to find a home for them,” Dicks said.
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) pointed out that just last year, Congress appropriated billions to buy three more of the Block 30 birds.
Schwartz told him moving ahead with production of those aircraft “would not be prudent.”
Republicans Rep. Bill Young (Fla.), the subcommittee chairman, and Rep. Jo Bonner (Ala.) also questioned the decision.
Dicks pointed out a flaw in the Air Force’s budget documents—that the operation and maintenance budget includes adjustments predicated on retiring the U-2 and updating the Global Hawk. “Is this an indication that the decision was done in a rushed manner?” Dicks asked.
After the hearing, he said that it is premature to say whether the committee will consider legislation on the Block 30 program, but added, “I’m not ruling anything out.”
Dicks also suggested “leveraging” the $6 billion investment in non-recurring engineering costs for the Navy’s P-8A aircraft to craft a replacement for the E-8 Joint Stars program. “To me it’s a no-brainer,” he said.