The National Guard’s budgetary wish list would restore the dozen fighter jets the Air Force trimmed in its original fiscal 2025 request, and permit the service to purchase the entire F-15EXs it originally planned.
The nearly $2.7 billion unfunded priorities list the Guard submitted to Congress asks for one more $690 million to purchase six more F-15EX Eagle IIs, and one other $660 million for six more F-35A Joint Strike Fighters. The $1.35 billion price tag for the extra fighters makes up a bit greater than half of the National Guard’s unfunded priorities request.
The Air Force earlier this month released a proposed budget that called for purchasing 42 F-35As from Lockheed Martin and 18 F-15EXs from Boeing, a discount of six each from what the service had originally projected it will buy. And the service said it planned to cap the full purchase of F-15EXs next yr at 98, down from the 104 the service most recently expected to purchase.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said before the budget release the service “needed to make some hard decisions” to suit inside the spending caps set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act Congress passed last yr. Because of this, the service cut its procurement spending by $1.6 billion and boosted its research, development, test and evaluation budget by an analogous amount.
The Air Force also said the delay within the F-35 upgrades often known as Technology Refresh 3 partly prompted it to dial back its fighter procurement.
The Air Force’s own unfunded priority list didn’t ask for any additional fighters in 2025.
The National Guard said in its unfunded priorities list that boosting the F-35 purchase next yr will allow the Air National Guard to complete constructing a sustainable fleet of 5 squadrons flying the advanced fighter jet and increase its capability within the Indo-Pacific region. It should also allow the Guard to complete standing up one other training squadron to assist pilots learn how you can fly the F-35.
The Guard said the extra Eagle II fighters would let it finish constructing a fleet of three combat squadrons that fly F-15EXs and would maximize the defense industrial base’s output of those jets.
And the Guard asked for one more $288 million to purchase more conformal fuel tanks for F-15EXs to increase their range and capability. The Air National Guard desires to have 54 conformal tanks in all in its inventory.
One other $349 million within the request would help the Air National Guard pay for 16 more C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft expected to reach in 2026. Congress has not provided enough money to pay for recapitalizing two C-130H units within the guard, the request said, and the extra money would fix that shortfall.
The Air National Guard also wants one other $52 million to provide its pilots about 4,600 more flying hours. The unfunded priorities list includes $110.4 million for 803 more recruiters, civil engineers, security forces and maintainers.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.