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201 0 UNITED STATES AIR FORCE 

POSTURE STATEMENT 
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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 

PRESENTATION TO THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

FISCAL YEAR 2011 AIR FORCE POSTURE STATEMENT 

STATEMENT OF: THE HONORABLE MICHAEL B. DONLEY 

 SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE 

 GENERAL NORTON A. SCHWARTZ 

 CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE 

 9 FEBRUARY 2010

NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL RELEASED 

BY THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

UNITED STATES SENATE 
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The 2010 Air Force Posture Statement presents our vision of Global Vigilance, Reach and Power as 

a vital component of the Joint team, defending our National interests, and guided by our core values 

of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do. 

INTRODUCTION

Today, the United States confronts a dynamic international environment marked by security 

challenges of unprecedented diversity. Along with our Joint partners, the Air Force will defend 

and advance the interests of the United States by providing unique capabilities to succeed in 

current conflicts while preparing to counter future threats to our national security. Over the last 

year, the Air Force made great strides in strengthening the precision and reliability that is our 

hallmark. 

STRATEGIC FOCUS

This year offers an opportunity to fully integrate our Service posture with a new National 

Security Strategy, the Department of Defense Quadrennial Defense Review, and strategic 

reviews of the Nation’s space, nuclear, and ballistic missile defense postures. Balance is the 

defining principle linking this budget request to our strategic guidance. 

In the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, the Secretary of Defense established four U.S. defense 

objectives to guide our current actions as well as to plan for the future: prevail in today’s wars, 

prevent and deter conflict, prepare to defeat adversaries and succeed in a wide range of 

contingencies, and preserve and enhance the all-volunteer force. In accordance with this 

guidance, the Air Force developed the 2011 budget request to enhance our capabilities to meet 

these objectives, while balancing risk appropriately. As the future security environment will 

require a range of agile and flexible capabilities, investments for today’s conflict will also 

support our efforts to prepare, prevent, and prevail, and preserve well into the future. 

Prevail in Today’s Wars: Our investments in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as 

well as airlift, command and control, and building partner capacity reinforce the prominence of 

this priority in our budget request. In addition, nearly 30,000 deployed Airmen daily provide key 

capabilities in direct support of combat operations. 

Prevent and Deter Conflict: The Air Force made significant resource and cultural investments in 

reinvigorating our portion of the Nation’s nuclear deterrence over the past 18 months. We are 

now institutionalizing these successes to ensure the highest standards across the nuclear 

enterprise. Our initial investments in a family of long-range strike capabilities mark our 

commitment to sustaining power projection capabilities for the next several decades. 

Prepare to Defeat Adversaries and Succeed in a Wide Range of Contingencies: This priority 

directly reflects the Air Force emphasis on balancing our commitments to today’s conflicts 

against preparing for mid- and long-term risks. Awarding a contract this year to recapitalize our 

aging tanker force is our top acquisition priority. Similarly, the F-35 will be the workhorse of 

the fighter force for decades to come. Our investment in this program is timed with other 

modernization initiatives and divestment plans to ensure sufficient capabilities are available to 

deter and defeat potential enemies. 
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Preserve and Enhance the All-Volunteer Force: Preserving and enhancing our all-volunteer 

force provides the foundation required for our flexible and agile posture. This budget reflects a 

commitment to enhancing our force through education and training, while also bolstering the 

overall quality of life of Airmen and their families. 

STRATEGY TO RESOURCES

As we prepared the budget request described by this Posture Statement, we structured our 

resource choices by balancing the twelve Air Force Core Functions across the near- and longterm. When considered together, the Core Functions encompass the full range of Air Force 

capabilities, and serve as the framework for this Posture Statement. While this document 

describes the core functions individually, we recognize their inherent interdependence within not 

just the Air Force, but also within the Joint force and the whole of government. 

AIR FORCE CORE FUNCTIONS

Nuclear Deterrence Operations Special Operations 

Air Superiority Global Integrated ISR 

Space Superiority Command and Control 

Cyberspace Superiority Personnel Recovery 

Global Precision Attack Building Partnerships 

Rapid Global Mobility Agile Combat Support 

Since its inception, the Air Force has served as a proud and disciplined steward of a large portion 

of the Nation’s nuclear arsenal. We steadfastly maintain and secure nuclear weapons to deter 

potential adversaries, and to assure our partners that we are a reliable force providing global 

stability. 

The first Air Force priority during the last two years has been to reinvigorate the stewardship, 

accountability, compliance, and precision within the nuclear enterprise. This mission demands 

perfection. Last year we reorganized our nuclear forces, consolidating responsibility into a clear 

chain of command. All nuclear operations are under the command of the Air Force Global 

Strike Command and all sustainment activities are controlled by the Air Force Nuclear Weapons 

Center. We also added a fourth B-52 squadron to enhance nuclear surety through greater 

mission focus. We continued these advancements in FY10 by reassigning Intercontinental 

Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and nuclear bomber forces to Air Force Global Strike Command as it 

proceeds toward full operational capability. 

The FY11 budget request continues to invest in sustaining the Air Force’s ICBM and bomber 

fleets. We will invest $295M across the FYDP to replace fuzing mechanisms, and to sustain test 

equipment and environmental control systems for the aging, but capable, Minuteman III ICBM 

weapon system. 

As we begin work to develop a future Long Range Strike capability, we recognize the need to

continue investing in our legacy bomber fleets, including nearly $800M for modernization. This 
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budget request provides the B-52, initially designed in the early 1950s, with an internal 

precision-guided weapons capability, a new radar, and a modern and effective anti-skid system. 

This request funds modernization of B-2 analog defensive systems to ensure continued 

survivability against increasingly capable air defense systems. Additionally, the UH-1N 

replacement program supporting missile launch complexes is on track and we anticipate IOC by 

FY15. 

Air superiority is a necessary precondition for most U.S. military operations. American ground 

forces have operated without fear of enemy aircraft since 1953. Although we operate in 

uncontested airspace in current conflicts, we cannot assume this will be the case in the future. 

The emergence of modern air defenses challenges the ability of the Air Force to achieve air 

superiority. Potential adversaries are leveraging readily accessible technologies by modifying 

existing airframes with improved radars, sensors, jammers, and weapons. In addition, several 

nations are pursuing fifth-generation aircraft capable of all-aspect, low-observable signatures, 

and fully integrated avionics and sensors. Adversary nations are also turning to advanced 

surface-to-air missiles to augment or even substitute for aircraft modernization efforts. The 

proliferation of these sophisticated and increasingly affordable weapons presents an area denial 

capability that challenges our legacy fleet. As the range of potential threats evolves, the Air 

Force will rely on the F-22 Raptor as the workhorse of the air superiority fighter force for the 

foreseeable future. Complementing our 187 modernized F-22s, we will continue to rely on 

F-15C/D aircraft to provide an important component of our air superiority capability. 

Our FY10 budget included plans to accelerate the retirement of some legacy fighter aircraft to 

pave the way for a smaller but more capable fighter force. As we work with the Congress to 

execute this important plan, we continue to aggressively modernize our air superiority fleet, 

including upgrading fielded F-22s to ensure fleet commonality with current deliveries. 

Additionally, we began modernizing 176 F-15Cs with the new APG-63(v)3 Active 

Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. Along with these modifications, we are continuing 

the development and procurement of the AIM-9X and AIM-120D air-to-air missiles.

The FY11 budget requests $12.5B in the FYDP to sustain America’s air superiority advantage. 

To continue F-22 modifications, this request includes $1.34B to continue fleet commonality 

upgrades, improving reliability and maintainability, and adding training enhancements for the 

fleet. Building on the multi-role nature of our most advanced aircraft, this request also includes 

$1.19B to add precision attack capabilities such as the Small Diameter Bomb. The Air Force 

will also continue the development and procurement of air-to-air munitions and defenses for the 

F-22 such as the AIM-9X, AIM-120D, and electronic warfare capabilities. To sustain our legacy 

aircraft viability, we included $92M to continue the upgrades and modifications to the new F-15 

AESA radar. Recognizing that Electronic Warfare remains an integral part of air superiority, we 

request $251M in FY11 for upgrades to the EC-130H Compass Call fleet. This request includes 

the conversion of an additional EC-130H, as well as a combined flight deck and mission crew 

simulator to increase training capacity. 
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America’s ability to operate across the spectrum of conflict relies heavily on space capabilities 

developed and operated by the Air Force. We support the Joint force by developing, integrating, 

and operating in six key mission areas: missile warning; space situational awareness (SSA); 

military satellite communications; positioning, navigation and timing; space access; and weather. 

To enhance space support to the Joint force, we are increasing communications capability in 

FY10 through two satellite communications programs, the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) 

program to replace the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS), and Advanced 

Extremely High Frequency system for protected communications. We launched the second and 

third WGS satellites in FY10; each WGS satellite provides the equivalent capacity of the entire 

legacy DSCS constellation. Additionally, the second on-orbit Space-Based Infrared System 

Highly Elliptical Orbit payload was fully certified by United States Strategic Command to 

perform strategic missile warning. Finally, spacelift remains the backbone for national security 

space with a record sixty-four consecutive successful missions. 

The FY11 budget request for $10.9B will improve our stewardship of space with investment in 

space and space-related support systems. With these resources, we will field several first-oftheir-kind systems – Global Positioning System Block IIF, Space Based Space Surveillance 

System, and Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite communications system. This 

request proposes $1.2B for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, $1.8B for the 

Space Based Infrared System, and $1.3B for GPS. We also included $135M for Joint Space 

Operation Center Mission System to improve SSA capabilities, and $94M for the Operationally 

Responsive Space program to pursue innovative capabilities that can be rapidly developed and 

fielded in months rather than years. We request $577M to fully fund WGS to meet combatant 

commander bandwidth requirements. Moreover, we will continue to maintain SSA groundbased systems and explore space-based capabilities to ensure our continued freedom to operate 

in this domain. 

Cyber threats ranging from individual hackers to criminal organizations to state-sponsored cyber 

intrusions can challenge access to, and use of, this domain. Although the freedom to operate in 

the cyber domain is a precondition for our increasingly networked force, many of our potential 

adversaries are similarly adopting information-enabled technology, rendering them vulnerable to 

cyber attack as well. Threats to freedom of access to the cyber domain present both challenges 

and opportunities. 

In FY10 we continued the development and institutionalization of cyberspace capabilities and 

integration into the Joint cyberspace structure. The newly activated 24th Air Force, the first 

Numbered Air Force dedicated to cyberspace operations, recently achieved initial operational 

capability and has been designated the Air Force component for the sub-unified U.S. Cyber 

Command. We are also focusing on cyber personnel by normalizing the cyber career path and 

adding technical education courses. 

The FY11 budget request reflects a continued commitment to cyber superiority. We request 

$31M for expanded rapid cyber acquisition capabilities to keep pace with dynamic adversaries 

and fast-paced advances in technology. In support of the national cyber effort, this budget 
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request dedicates $104M to support operations and leased space for headquarters staff at the subunified U.S. Cyber Command. Additionally, we propose adding $15M and additional manpower 

over the next five years to increase the investigative and law enforcement aspects of cyberspace 

defense.

Global Precision Attack is the ability to hold any target at risk, across the air, land, and sea 

domains. Many of our global precision attack forces are meeting the current requirements of 

ongoing contingency operations by performing precision strike and intelligence, surveillance, 

and reconnaissance (ISR) support roles. In the longer term, however, the proliferation of area 

denial and anti-access capabilities will challenge the ability of current fourth-generation fighters 

and legacy bombers to penetrate contested airspace. 

The Air Force budget request in FY10 recognized these developments and continued 

improvements to aircraft and weapons capabilities. This year, we will take delivery of 10 F-35s 

for developmental testing and to train test pilots. We are also modernizing legacy fighter aircraft 

to maintain sufficient capability and capacity until the F-35 fleet is fully operational, and are 

continuing to develop programs for preferred air-to-ground weapons. Upon completion of the 

required reports to the Congress later this year, we will implement the planned reduction of 257 

legacy fighters. We have had mixed results in test drops of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator; 

however, we are closely monitoring the progress of this important capability, and future 

successes likely will result in a reprogramming request to accelerate its development in FY10. 

Finally, continued development of the second increment of the Small Diameter Bomb will give 

the Air Force even greater capability and flexibility. 

Our $14.4B Global Precision Attack request for FY11 reflects a balanced approach across the 

portfolio, prioritizing investment in fifth-generation aircraft while sustaining legacy platforms as 

a bridge to the F-35. 

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter 

The multi-role F-35 is a critical element of the Air Force’s future precision attack capability. In 

addition to complementing the F-22’s world class air superiority capabilities, the F-35 is 

designed to penetrate air defenses and deliver a wide range of precision munitions. This modern, 

fifth-generation aircraft brings the added benefit of increased allied interoperability and costsharing across services and partner nations. 

Working in close collaboration with DoD, the F-35 program team realized a number of 

accomplishments over the last year, to include the first flight of the first optimized conventional 

take-off and landing (CTOL) Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) variant—aircraft AF-1. 

Despite these important accomplishments, the program is experiencing program challenges as it 

transitions from development to production. Last year, DoD conducted multiple, independent 

reviews to assess the impact of these challenges on the program’s cost, schedule, and technical 

performance. The results were consistent with a previous FY08 DoD independent assessment 

that projected a cost increase and schedule slip. 

The challenges being experienced are not unusual for this phase of a major program. However, 

we are disappointed by the contractor’s failure to deliver flight test aircraft as scheduled during 

the past year. The result of the late deliveries will be a delay in the flight test program. 
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Although there appear to be recent improvements, the contractor also has been experiencing 

assembly inefficiencies that must be corrected to support higher production rates. 

In response to the challenges still facing the program and the findings of the independent 

reviews, we have taken numerous management actions to reduce risk. Most significantly we 

have determined that it is prudent to adjust the schedule and funding to levels consistent with the 

most recent independent estimates. These cost and schedule adjustments require that we initiate 

the process to confirm the program is in breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Act criteria, and details 

will be reported later this spring. 

The F-35 is our largest and most important program and we are dedicated to successfully 

delivering these aircraft to both the U.S. and to our international partners in this effort. The Air 

Force FY11 budget includes $5.6 billion for continued development and procurement of 22 

CTOL production aircraft. 

Long-range Strike

Investments in our B-52 and B-2 fleets sustain nuclear deterrence operations as well as 

conventional global precision attack capabilities in the near-term, but we are adding R&D funds 

to accelerate development of enhanced long-range strike capabilities. Building upon insights 

developed during the QDR, the Secretary of Defense has ordered a follow-on study to determine 

what combination of Joint persistent surveillance, electronic warfare, and precision-attack 

capabilities will be best suited to support U.S. power projection operations over the next two to 

three decades. The study will examine both penetrating platforms and stand-off weapon options. 

As part of this assessment, the Air Force is reviewing options for fielding survivable, long-range 

surveillance and strike aircraft as part of a comprehensive, phased plan to modernize the bomber 

force. Additionally, the Navy and the Air Force are cooperatively assessing alternatives for a 

new Joint cruise missile. Finally, the Department of Defense also plans to analyze conventional 

prompt global strike prototypes and will assess the effects that these systems, if deployed, might 

have on strategic stability. 

The Air Force is committed to providing unmatched airlift and air refueling capability to the 

nation. Air Force mobility forces provide an essential deployment and sustainment capability for 

the Joint force, delivering personnel, equipment, and supplies necessary for missions ranging 

from conflict to humanitarian relief. 

We are releasing the Request for Proposal for a KC-X replacement tanker in early 2010, and will 

aggressively work toward awarding a contract later this year. Additionally, we completed the 

successful operational testing of the C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engine Program 

(RERP) and will induct two more C-5Bs into low-rate initial production. For tactical airlift, we 

recently concluded a test of our Direct Support airlift concept and continue to work with the 

Army to rapidly and smartly transfer the C-27J program to the Air Force. 

The FY11 budget reflects a balanced approach across the tanker and airlift portfolios, which 

prioritizes recapitalization of the oldest aircraft while ensuring the continued viability of the 

legacy fleet. Investments in tanker capability are heavily weighted towards the KC-X program—

our top acquisition priority—and represent $11.7B in the FYDP. However, while moving 

aggressively to recapitalize the tanker fleet, we must also ensure the continued health of legacy 
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aircraft. This budget request includes $680M in the FYDP for airspace access modifications and 

sustainment of the KC-10 and KC-135 fleets. 

The Air Force Airlift budget request is focused on meeting mobility requirements in the most 

cost efficient way possible, recapitalizing only the oldest airlift aircraft. To ensure continued 

access to all airspace, this budget continues to modernize and modify C-5s and C-130Hs through 

Avionics Modernization Programs, and upgrades C-5B/Cs with RERP. To complete the 

recapitalization of C-130Es, we request $1.8B over the next five years to procure 24 C-130Js. 

Additionally, in accordance with the preliminary results of the Mobility Capabilities and 

Requirements Study 2016, and subject to authorization by the Congress, we intend to retire some 

of the oldest, least capable C-5As and C-130H1s. We have also requested $38.9M in FY11 to 

transition from C-17 procurement to sustainment. 

Air Force special operations capabilities play a vital role in supporting U.S. Special Operations 

Command (USSOCOM) and geographic combatant commanders. As the Department of Defense 

increasingly develops irregular warfare capabilities, the Air Force is investing in special 

operations airlift, close air support, foreign internal defense, and intelligence, surveillance, and 

reconnaissance capabilities. 

In FY10 we focused on growing and recapitalizing the special operations aircraft inventory. By 

the end of the fiscal year, three MC-130W Combat Spear aircraft will be modified with the 

Precision Strike Package to provide additional armed overwatch capability for SOF forces. 

Additionally, we will deliver the sixteenth of fifty CV-22s. 

This FY11 budget proposal includes $6.7B through the FYDP to continue growing and 

recapitalizing the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). In FY11 we will procure 

five additional CV-22s and five MC-130Js for $1.1B. This request also includes $1.6B in the 

FYDP to start recapitalizing our AC-130H aircraft. We will rapidly recapitalize these aging 

aircraft through the procurement of 16 additional MC-130Js, modified with the proven Precision 

Strike Package. In FY11 we will also increase AFSOC’s manpower by 258 personnel by FY15 

to support the addition of 16 fixed-wing mobility and two rotary-wing aircraft. 

The Air Force continues to rapidly increase its ISR capability and capacity to support combat 

operations. Air Force ISR provides timely, fused, and actionable intelligence to the Joint force, 

from forward deployed locations and globally distributed centers around the globe. The 

exceptional operational value of Air Force ISR assets has led Joint force commanders in Iraq, 

Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa to continually increase their requests for these forces. To 

help meet this demand, the Air Force currently has more than 90 percent of all available ISR 

assets deployed. 

In FY10, we are quantitatively and qualitatively increasing aircraft, sensors, data links, ground 

stations, and personnel to address emergent requirements. Over the last two years, the Air Force 

increased the number of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) fielded by 330 percent. We invested in 

a Wide Area Airborne Surveillance (WAAS) system for new and existing MQ-9s to provide up 

to 50 video streams per sensor within a few years. By the summer of FY10, a quick reaction 
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capability version of WAAS known as Gorgon Stare will provide 10 video streams per MQ-9. 

Any ROVER-equipped ground force will be able to receive any of these feeds. We also added 

four RQ-4s, and graduated our first class of RPA-only pilots. Early in FY10, we proposed a shift 

in the nomenclature from ―unmanned aircraft systems‖ (or UAS) to ―remotely piloted aircraft‖ as 

part of normalizing this capability within the Air Force manpower structure and culture. We will 

also maintain our current JSTARS-based Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) capability as 

we begin an Analysis of Alternatives to determine the future of GMTI. 

To complement remotely piloted capabilities, we are deploying MC-12W Project Liberty aircraft 

to the theater as fast as they can be delivered from the factory. This program progressed from 

―concept to combat‖ in a record nine months, and has a deployed maintenance availability rate 

well above 90 percent. 

Because analysis transforms data into actionable intelligence, we are shifting approximately 

3,600 of the 4,100 manpower billets recaptured from the early retirement of legacy fighters to 

support RPA operations, and the processing, exploitation, and dissemination of intelligence 

collected by manned and remotely piloted aircraft. We also doubled the number of ISR liaison 

officers assigned to deployed ground forces to ensure the seamless integration of ISR collection 

and exploitation assets. 

Our FY11 budget proposal reflects the Joint force emphasis on ISR capacity, and builds on 

progress made in FY10. The Air Force will reach 50 RPA continuous, combat air patrols 

(CAPs) in theater by the end of FY11. The budget request increases MC-12W funding to 

normalize training and basing posture, adds Wide Area Airborne Surveillance capability, and 

increases the total number of our RPA platforms to enable fielding up to 65 CAPs by the end of 

FY13. As we request additional RQ-4 Global Hawks for high altitude ISR, we also intend to 

continue operating the U-2 at least throughout FY13 as a risk mitigation effort. We will sustain 

our ISR processing, exploitation, and dissemination in the Distributed Common Ground System, 

providing critical distributed analysis without having to forward deploy more forces. 

Theater-wide command and control (C2) enables efficient and effective exploitation of the air, 

space, and cyber domain. The Air Force maintains significant C2 capabilities at the theater level. 

However, the highly decentralized nature of irregular warfare also places increased demands on 

lower echelons of command. Matching the range and flexibility of air, space, and cyberspace 

power to effectively meet tactical requirements requires a linked C2 structure at all echelons. 

This year, we are expanding our efforts to provide C2 at the tactical, operational, and strategic 

levels. In FY11, the Air Force is requesting $30M across the FYDP to fund equipment and 

assured communications for U.S. Strategic Command’s Distributed Command and Control Node 

(DC2N), U.S. Northern Command’s National Capital Region-Integrated Air Defense (NCRIADS), and U.S. Africa Command’s expanding air operations center. Tactically, we are 

increasing training pipelines for Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs), establishing an Air 

Liaison Officer career field, fielding advanced video downlink capabilities, and adding airborne 

radio and datalink gateways to improve the connectivity of air support operations centers and 

JTACS.
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In FY11, the Air Force request also includes modernization and sustainment of both airborne and 

ground-based C2 systems. For Air Force airborne C2, we request $275M for the E-3 Block 

40/45 upgrade program. This upgrade modernizes a 1970s-era computer network, eliminates 

many components that are no longer manufactured, and adds avionics to comply with Global Air 

Traffic Management standards. To improve ground-based tactical air control operations, we are 

increasing manpower in the control and reporting centers and investing $51.5 million with the 

U.S. Marine Corps for a follow-on ground-based radar capability supporting air and missile 

defense. This Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) will be the 

future long-range, ground-based sensor for detecting, identifying, tracking, and reporting aircraft 

and missiles. 

Personnel recovery (PR) remains an important commitment the Air Force makes to the Joint 

force. The increased utilization of military and civilian personnel in support of Overseas 

Contingency Operations (OCO) has dramatically increased the number of individuals who may 

find themselves isolated. This has in-turn created an increasing demand for Air Force rescue 

forces beyond the combat search and rescue mission. Air Force PR forces are fully engaged in 

Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa, accomplishing crucial medical and casualty 

evacuation missions for U.S. and Coalition military and civilian personnel. 

This year, we will continue to surge critical personnel recovery capability to the field, and will 

start replacing the aging fleet. To bring the fleet back to its original size of 112 HH-60Gs, we 

will put the first four operational loss replacement aircraft on contract. Additionally, we will 

deliver the first two HC-130J tanker aircraft, starting the replacement of the 1960s-era HC-130P 

fleet. 

The FY11 budget request continues the replacement of operational losses and modernization of 

aging equipment. This request funds the last eight HH-60G operational loss replacement aircraft 

by the end of FY12. Additionally, we begin the process of recapitalizing the remaining fleet 

with the inclusion of $1.5B to procure 36 HH-60G replacement aircraft in the FYDP. We also 

continue our recapitalization of the HC-130P/N fleet with HC-130J aircraft. Finally, we request 

$553M in funding throughout the FYDP for the Guardian Angel program, which will standardize 

and modernize mission essential equipment for our pararescuemen.

The Air Force continues to seek opportunities to develop partnerships around the world, and to 

enhance long-term capabilities through security cooperation. In the USCENTCOM AOR, 

deployed Airmen are working with our Afghan and Iraqi partners to build a new Afghan 

National Army Air Corps and Iraqi Air Force to strengthen the ability of these nations to uphold 

the rule of law and defend their territories against violent, non-state actors. We are also working 

to further partnerships with more established allies with programs like the Joint Strike Fighter. 

Similarly, the third and final C-17 procured under the 12-nation Strategic Airlift Capability 

program was delivered in October 2009, helping to address a chronic shortage of strategic airlift 

among our European Allies. 

In FY11, we will expand our capabilities to conduct building partner capacity (BPC) operations 

with partner air forces. Past experience has shown us that we are more effective trainers when 
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we operate the same platforms as our partners. To increase our interoperability, the Air Force 

requests resources to prepare to field the Light Mobility Aircraft (LiMA) in FY12 and the Light 

Attack/Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR) aircraft in FY13. These aircraft will provide effective 

and affordable capabilities in the two most critical mission areas for partner air forces: lower-cost 

airlift and light strike/reconnaissance training. Additionally, we will continue to foster BPC 

capability in our Contingency Response Groups. This request also includes $51M to continue 

investing in the Strategic Airlift Capability program. Finally, we programmed $6.4M annually 

across the FYDP for PACIFIC ANGEL humanitarian assistance missions in support of U.S 

Pacific Command theater objectives. 

.

Agile combat support underpins the entire Air Force, from the development and training of 

Airmen to revitalizing processes in the acquisition enterprise. In terms of core functions, agile 

combat support reflects the largest portion of the Air Force budget proposal, totaling 

approximately $42B for personnel and training, installation support, logistics, and acquisition. 

Airmen and Families. Over the last year we stabilized end strength. Retention rates have 

exceeded expectations, but we continue to progress toward our end strength goal of 332,200 

active duty Airmen. In addition to stabilizing our end strength, we are also modernizing our 

training programs and aircraft. To better partner with the Joint and Coalition team, we will 

provide our Airmen with cultural and regional expertise and appropriate levels of foreign 

language training. We are also expanding foreign language instruction for officer 

commissioning programs at the Air Force Academy and in ROTC, encouraging cadets to take 

foreign language coursework and participate in language immersion and study programs abroad. 

This expanded training includes enhanced expeditionary skills training to prepare Airmen for 

deployment. Finally, as part of our effort to modernize training systems, we have established a 

program office to start the process of replacing the T-38 trainer with an advanced trainer capable 

of teaching pilots to fly the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft. 

Recognizing that family support programs must keep pace with the needs of Airmen and their 

families, we initiated the Year of the Air Force Family in July 2009. We plan to add enough 

capacity to our child development centers to eliminate the child care space deficit by the end of 

FY12, provide better support to exceptional family member programs, and add 54 school liaison 

officers to Airmen and Family Readiness Centers to highlight and secure Air Force family needs 

with local school administrators. 

The Air Force continues to expand its efforts to improve the resiliency of Airmen and their 

families before and after deployments. This year we expanded deployment-related family 

education, coupling it with psychological screening and post-deployment health assessments. 

Additionally, we offer access to chaplains who provide pastoral care, and counselors and mental 

health providers trained in post-traumatic stress treatment at every base. We plan to further 

enhance support in 2010 by promoting and encouraging mental health assistance, and by 

providing at-risk deployers with tailored and targeted resiliency programs. To support this 

increased effort, we will enhance mental health career field recruiting and retention through 

special pays and targeted retention bonuses. 
13

Acquisition Excellence. The Air Force continues to make progress within the Acquisition 

Improvement Plan. In 2009, we hired over 2,000 personnel into the acquisition workforce and 

continued contractor-to-civilian conversions. The Air Force institutionalized early collaboration 

with acquisition system stakeholders, senior acquisition leadership certification of requirements, 

cost estimation improvements, and an improved budgeting process to enhance the probability of 

program successes. The multi-functional independent review teams conducted over 113 reviews, 

ensuring acquisition selections are correct and defendable. As part of our recent acquisition 

reorganization, we created 11 new program executive officer positions to reduce the span of 

control and increase their focus on program execution. These enhancements demonstrate our 

commitment to restoring the public’s trust in the Air Force’s ability to acquire the most 

technologically advanced weapon systems at a competitive cost. In the near-term, this more 

rigorous approach to acquisition is likely to identify problems and programmatic disconnects. In 

the medium- and long-term, it should yield significant improvements in Air Force stewardship of 

taxpayer resources. 

Energy. As part of our institutional effort to consider energy management in all that we do, the 

Air Force requests $250 million for energy and water conservation projects in FY11. This 

investment will ensure we meet the President’s efficiency goals by 2015. In FY10, the Air Force 

finalized an energy plan that directs the development and use of reliable alternative energy 

resources, and reduces the life-cycle costs of acquisition programs. Additionally, the plan 

recognizes that aviation operations account for over 80 percent of the energy used by the Air 

Force each year, and directs Airmen and mission planners to continue managing aviation fuel as 

an increasingly scarce resource. 

Military Construction. The Air Force $1.3B MILCON request is austere, but provides funding 

for new construction aligned with weapon system deliveries. Additionally, the budget request 

sustains our effort to provide quality housing for Airmen and their families. Finally, the Air 

Force remains focused on completing its BRAC 2005 program and continuing the legacy BRAC 

programs as well as the environmental clean-up at legacy BRAC locations. 

Strategic Basing. In 2009, the Air Force implemented a Strategic Basing Process to ensure 

basing decisions are made in a manner that supports new weapon system acquisition and delivery 

schedules as well as organization activation milestones. The newly established Strategic Basing 

Executive Steering Group directs these actions to ensure a standard, repeatable, and transparent 

process in the evaluation of Air Force basing opportunities. We are currently using this process 

to conduct an enterprise-wide look at F-35 basing options. 

Logistics. Air Force requirements for weapon system sustainment funding continue to grow as 

aircraft age. In the long term, the increasing requirements for sustaining an aging aircraft fleet 

pose budget challenges and force trade-offs. We protected direct warfighter support, irregular 

warfare capabilities, and the nuclear enterprise. Since this year’s budget includes a simultaneous 

OCO submission along with a base budget, the Air Force optimized its flying hour program 

funding to support only the peacetime flying hours we can fly, given the number of deployed 

Airmen and aircraft supporting Overseas Contingency Operations. Due to the volatile nature of 

fuel prices, reprogramming may be necessary to cover increased fuel costs. Over the longer 

term, enactment of the Department of Defense’s legislative proposal for the Refined Petroleum 

Products Marginal Expense Transfer Account would reduce disruptions to operations and 

investment programs by providing the Department of Defense flexibility to deal with fuel price 
14

fluctuations in the changing economy. The Air Force maintained its commitment to 

transforming logistics business practices, including total asset visibility and associated 

information technology, by protecting funds associated with fielding the first increment of the 

Expeditionary Combat Support System. 

READINESS AND RESOURCING

Our efforts over the last year continued to stress both people and platforms. Nearly 40,000 of 

America's Airmen are deployed to 263 locations across the globe, including 63 locations in the 

Middle East. In addition to deployed Airmen, nearly 130,000 Airmen support combatant 

commander requirements from their home station daily. These Airmen operate the Nation’s 

space and missile forces, process and exploit remotely collected ISR, provide national 

intelligence support, execute air sovereignty alert missions, and contribute in many other ways. 

To date, the Air Force has flown over 50,000 sorties supporting Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 

and almost 66,000 sorties supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. During this time the 

Air Force delivered over 1.73 million passengers and 606,000 tons of cargo, employed almost 

1,980 tons of munitions, and transported nearly 70,000 total patients and 13,000 casualties from 

the CENTCOM AOR. In doing so, Airmen averaged nearly 330 sorties per day. 

To support the efforts of Airmen and to recruit and retain the highest quality Air Force members, 

this FY11 budget request includes $29.3B in military personnel funding, to include a 1.4 percent 

pay increase. Our active component end strength will grow to 332,200 Airmen as the Reserve 

Component end strength increases to 71,200, and the Air National Guard end strength remains 

106,700 in FY11. Our recruiting and retention is strong, but we request $645M for recruiting 

and retention bonuses targeted at critical wartime skills, including command and control, public 

affairs, contracting, pararescue, security forces, civil engineering, explosive ordnance disposal, 

medical, and special investigations. 

SUMMARY

The Air Force’s proposed FY11 budget of $119.6B achieves the right balance between providing 

capabilities for today’s commitments and posturing for future challenges. The Air Force built 

this budget to best achieve the four strategic priorities outlined in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense 

Review: 1) prevail in today’s wars; 2) prevent and deter conflict; 3) prepare to defeat adversaries 

and succeed in a wide range of contingencies; and 4) preserve and enhance the All-Volunteer 

Force. 

Balancing requirements for today and tomorrow determined our recapitalization strategy. We 

chose to improve our existing capabilities whenever possible, and to pursue new systems when 

required. This recapitalization approach attempts to keep pace with threat developments and 

required capabilities, while ensuring stewardship of national resources. In developing this 

budget request, we also carefully preserved and enhanced our comprehensive approach to taking 

care of Airmen and Air Force families.