{"id":29439,"date":"2021-08-17T13:56:12","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T13:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/17\/the-new-air-force-secretary-wants-to-scare-china\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:25:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:25:32","slug":"the-new-air-force-secretary-wants-to-scare-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2021\/08\/17\/the-new-air-force-secretary-wants-to-scare-china\/","title":{"rendered":"The new US Air Force secretary wants to \u2018scare China\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 After being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/07\/28\/new-air-force-secretary-frank-kendall-takes-office\/\" target=\"_blank\">sworn in <\/a>as the U.S. Air Force\u2019s top civilian, Frank Kendall went straight to the budget books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kendall, a former Pentagon acquisition chief who is well-acquainted with the world of military technology, immediately immersed himself in the Air Force\u2019s fiscal 2023 budget and directed a number of last-minute adjustments to the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The goal, Kendall told Defense News in an exclusive Aug. 13 interview, should be to field the kinds of leap-ahead technologies that \u201cscare China.\u201d But whether the Air Force can do that depends on how successful it is in convincing Congress it must make near-term sacrifices to its existing aircraft inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Air Force has been overly constrained,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cI think we\u2019ve not been allowed to do things we really need to do to free up resources for things that are higher priority. We\u2019ve had a very hard time getting the Congress to allow us to retire older aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kendall declined to elaborate about specific spending changes he sought in the FY23 budget \u2014 a proposal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2020\/11\/13\/the-top-air-force-general-wants-to-go-faster-but-the-biggest-changes-wont-happen-for-another-year\/\" target=\"_blank\">Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown <\/a>has said will reveal the service\u2019s bold plan to modernize the fleet \u2014 but signaled he is pressing for an even more ambitious proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve been obsessed, if you will, with China for quite a long time now \u2014 and its military modernization, what that implies for the US and for security,\u201d said Kendall, an Army veteran who has had a long career in the Pentagon, including serving as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/reagan-defense-forum\/2016\/12\/03\/frank-kendall-on-the-ndaa-and-the-end-of-at-l\/\" target=\"_blank\">department\u2019s acquisition executive <\/a>during the Obama administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne of the things I\u2019ve gotten back up to speed on since I came back was our intelligence on what the Chinese are doing with their modernization programs,\u201d he added. \u201cThey\u2019re moving faster than I might have anticipated. So, we have a lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What types of technologies have the potential to threaten China?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kendall pointed to programs such as the F-35\u2032s Block 4 upgrade, which will increase its computing power and add new weapons and sensors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advances in networked autonomous systems and artificial intelligence show promise, but haven\u2019t been effectively implemented throughout the military \u2014 another potential problem to tackle, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then there are the classified programs the Air Force is working on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got a few things that are in the pipeline that have not been revealed to the public yet, that I can\u2019t talk about,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cOne that has been revealed in part is the B-21 bomber. I think that\u2019s going to be something that will be intimidating, it\u2019s going to be very capable. And there are a few others like that that are coming down the pipeline. \u2026 But I think we have to be continuously thinking about other things that will be intimidating to our future enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>\u2018Death by a thousand cuts\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As head of the Department of the Air Force, Kendall will oversee a $207 billion budget for the Space Force and Air Force (also included in that sum is a $38 billion \u201cpass through\u201d fund controlled by other government agencies). Even with defense budgets projected to remain flat throughout the Biden administration, Kendall said the department can achieve its mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we\u2019re allowed to do the things we need to do, we can live within the types of top lines that we\u2019re talking about,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when you\u2019re hamstrung by the fact that you can\u2019t divest bases you don\u2019t need [and] you can\u2019t divest aircraft you don\u2019t need, you can\u2019t take the steps that you need to modernize.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a problem very familiar to Kendall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the Obama and Trump administrations, the Air Force attempted to free up funding for emerging technologies \u2014 next-generation aircraft, artificial intelligence, all-domain command and control, and autonomous systems, to name a few priorities \u2014 by shedding older aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service saw limited success, as Congress wholly rebuffed plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/budget\/2017\/05\/23\/stayin-alive-no-retirement-in-sight-for-the-a-10-and-u-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">retire entire fleets <\/a>like the A-10, U-2 spyplane and RQ-4 Global Hawk multiple times from FY14 through FY17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent years, the Air Force has opted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/budget\/2021\/05\/28\/us-air-force-to-mothball-dozens-of-a-10s-f-15s-and-f-16s-in-fy22-budget\/\" target=\"_blank\">propose more piecemeal divestments<\/a>, and Congress has allowed the service to retire a limited number of B-1 bombers, KC-10 tankers, RQ-4 Global Hawks and other aircraft \u2014 which Kendall termed \u201cdeath by a thousand cuts\u201d that has failed to result in real savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kendall signaled he may support a return to the full-fleet divestment proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJust on pure economics, it\u2019s often better to get rid of an entire fleet,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a fixed cost associated with each fleet. And then on top of that, there\u2019s a variable cost associated with how many you have. And you can\u2019t get rid of that fixed cost unless you get rid of all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, he acknowledged any proposal for cuts to the Air Force\u2019s inventory needs buy-in from lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One idea Kendall has been floating to members and staffers on Capitol Hill is the possibility of bundling proposed divestments together in a single, mutually-agreed upon package so that the Air Force is able to make cuts without \u201chav[ing] to go fight individually with every district and state for a divestment that we might want to make,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The idea is still in its infancy, and Kendall added that he will seek lawmakers\u2019 input on how the Air Force can make aircraft retirements more politically palatable and minimize the impact on local jobs and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSome places we won\u2019t be able to do that,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got to move forward. The security of the nation depends upon us doing it. And the alternative is a long, slow slide into a less capable force.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Less than three weeks into his term as Air Force secretary, Frank Kendall has big plans for the 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