General Jumper testifies on 2006 Air Force posture, budget

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. David A. Jablonski
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON --  Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper testified Feb. 10 before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on the defense authorization request for fiscal 2006.

The four service chiefs provided posture statements and answered questions about how each branch developed their portion of next year’s budget.

General Jumper’s opening remarks described how the Air Force is fighting and winning the war on terrorism.

He said more than 30,000 Airmen are deployed to 14 forward bases in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, while 10,000 more continue supporting Operation Noble Eagle at home. About 2,000 Airmen are on convoy duty in Iraq. Guard and Reserve Airmen are flying 55 percent of the sorties overseas and 80 percent of the Noble Eagle sorties over the United States.

With an eye on the future, General Jumper said, the Air Force will continue to purchase as many unmanned aerial vehicles as contractors can produce and looks to the F/A-22 Raptor to guard against enemies who contest airspace around the world. He also stressed that the service seeks to transform space communication and space-based radar to connect to the warfighter and make those assets more useful to commanders on the ground.

The Air Force plans to modernize while, “maintaining the oldest fleet we’ve ever had,” he said.

During questioning, Sen. Saxby Chambliss asked General Jumper about the Air Force’s ability to maintain air superiority in the future.

“In every conflict over the last several decades, we’ve been able to maintain air superiority and dominance,” Senator Chambliss said.

“General, I don’t want us to be in a fair fight,” he said. “I want the men and women who fly for you, as well as every other branch, to have the capability of knocking anything off the ground that may be shot at us, or anything coming out of the sky that might shoot at us, or shoot at our men and women on the ground.

“Is there any other weapon system out there today that can provide the capability to prevent that from happening other than the F-22,” he asked.

“No sir, there is not,” General Jumper replied.

But the Air Force future is not just F/A-22. The senate committee requested further discussion on continuing J-model C-130 Hercules production rather than scrapping the upgrade program and suffering contract cancellation costs.

More hearings are expected as the budget process continues.

President George W. Bush delivered his defense budget request for $419.3 billion to Congress on Feb. 7. The proposed $102.9 billion Air Force budget represents a real growth of about $4 billion over the fiscal 2005 budget of $96 billion after adjustment for inflation and rising fuel costs.