{"id":15554,"date":"2017-09-01T16:12:37","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T16:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/01\/secaf-t-x-trainer-contract-new-hires-could-be-among-cr-victims\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:32:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:32:58","slug":"secaf-t-x-trainer-contract-new-hires-could-be-among-cr-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2017\/09\/01\/secaf-t-x-trainer-contract-new-hires-could-be-among-cr-victims\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force secretary names T-X trainer contract, new hires as potential CR victims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 The contract award for the U.S. Air Force\u2019s new trainer, as well as an influx of new pilots and cyber experts, are at risk if Congress funds the Pentagon through a long continuing resolution, according to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During an Aug. 31 joint interview with Defense News and Air Force Times, Wilson said the T-X contract award is one of the many programs that would likely be delayed under a CR, which funds the government at previous fiscal year levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The T-X is the Air Force\u2019s next big contract<\/a>, with the long competition for the right to produce 350 next-generation trainer aircraft finally expected to conclude before the end of the year. Boeing-Saab, Lockheed Martin-KAI, and Leonardo are the final three competitors for the T-X design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked if the service could still name a winner for T-X while delaying an actual contract, Wilson indicated that wouldn\u2019t be happening, saying, \u201cWell, what\u2019s the point? We don\u2019t have the money to be able to do it, so you end up delaying a lot of new starts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another concern for Wilson is the impact a CR would have on the service\u2019s attempts to plus- up pilot numbers and increase the number of cyber experts in the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou probably have a hard freeze, if not a chill, on hiring,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to hire people in cyber, in training. We\u2019re trying to increase the number of pilots we\u2019re putting through pilot training. … This becomes very quickly an extremely difficult problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In theory, that could potentially harm the service\u2019s chances of getting exemptions for big programs like the T-X. Under a CR, the services can request Congress to create special allowances for vital programs to be funded, but those are typically few and far between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson also is cocerned that the number of major issues going on in the world right now, including the standoff with North Korea and the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, could divert the attention of members of Congress at a time when they need to be making big decisions about how to fund the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI worry that there are a lot of demands on every member of Congress that don\u2019t relate to the security of the country, and it only matters when things go wrong and then it\u2019s too late,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t