Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) member Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) Wednesday placed a hold on the confirmation of Deborah James becoming the next Air Force secretary, according to an Ayotte aide.
The aide said yesterday Ayotte is concerned the Air Force’s rumored plans to divest the A-10 fleet before the service has a replacement, specifically the F-35, could create a capability gap and cost lives. Ayotte’s aide provided a briefing slide with the Air Combat Command logo that suggests a fighter force structure with the A-10 fleet divested in fiscal year 2015.
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| The Air Force’s A-10 Thunderbolt. Photo: Air Force. |
Though James said during her Sept. 19 Senate confirmation hearing there has been no decision on divesting A-10s or “anything else for that matter,” she also said everything, including complete divestitures of aircraft fleet, are “possibilities” and “on the table.” The A-10 is a twin-engine aircraft that provides close-air support of ground forces and employs a wide variety of conventional munitions, including general purpose bombs. It is also equipped with large caliber machine guns capable of destroying tanks.
Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group, told Defense Daily yesterday this is mostly the latest round of a battle that has been taking place between the Air Force and Congress for the last 30 or 40 years. But Aboulafia said, as the F-35 alternate engine battle demonstrated, where Congress stunningly caved to the Air Force’s demand against an alternate engine after lawmakers insisted on one for years, times are changing to where the Air Force could get its way again.
“We’re in strange budget times when all the logical rules can be upended,” Aboulafia said. “All of the sudden you had sequestration and the tea party and the Budget Control Act, and all that conspired to kill (the alternate engine) against everyone’s expectations. (This battle has) been going on for decades, but it doesn’t mean things are changing.”
Aboulafia suggested that Ayotte’s move could viewed as a favor to the Army, who might like a plane that that flies low and slow and blasts away at tanks, though doesn’t rank high among Air Force priorities.
“To a certain extent, it’s not just looking after the Army, it’s good inter-service relations,” Aboulafia said.
Though he said it’s “quite possible” the Air Force could offer a concession to Ayotte to ensure James’ confirmation, Aboulafia said in the end it will be about the Air Force trying not to make too many enemies among lawmakers.
“They threw out a whole host of program cancellation and kills,” Aboulafia said. “It would be unlikely that they would achieve all their objectives, they’d make too many enemies. So they have to pick and choose here.”
Ayotte’s hold was first reported by Defense News.