The USAF proposed a five-year plan to make significant cuts in fighter and bomber aircraft, as well as other aircraft systems, to free up funding to develop and produce newer, modern aircraft capable of countering emerging threats in Russia and China.
Specifically, the Department of Defense is looking at significant cuts in the numbers of F-15s, F-16s, B-1 bombers, and even RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs.
The cuts are to be included in the 2021 DOD budget
According to Pentagon sources, the Air Force wanted even deeper cuts to shift more funds to develop new capabilities, but “they were trying to take a tremendous near-term risk to do that.”
The final proposal involves fewer cuts than originally requested and stretches out the new technology development schedule.