{"id":41081,"date":"2021-02-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/02\/22\/what-is-a-legacy-system-the-key-is-relevance-not-age\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:16:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:16:33","slug":"what-is-a-legacy-system-the-key-is-relevance-not-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/02\/22\/what-is-a-legacy-system-the-key-is-relevance-not-age\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a legacy system? The key is relevance, not age."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two decades into the 21st century, far too much of the U.S. military consists of systems that were designed and initially produced at the end of the last century, and in many cases back to the late Cold War. While the United States and its allies face growing threats from China and Russia, much of the U.S. military force structure has been worn out<\/a> by the relentless pace of global operations<\/a> over the past two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one example, the size of the U.S. Air Force\u2019s combat aircraft inventory<\/a> is at an all-time low<\/a>, while the age of key elements of the combat aircraft fleet is at an all-time high. An urgent need exists to upgrade U.S. military capabilities, that can no longer be addressed solely by modernizing existing platforms. At the same time, the massive price tag associated with the response to COVID-19, along with the pandemic\u2019s lingering impact on the U.S. economy, threatens to blow a hole in any future stability for the defense budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report<\/a> of the House Armed Services Committee\u2019s Future of Defense Task Force argued that \u201cCongress and the Department of Defense must identify, replace, and retire costly and ineffective legacy platforms,\u201d and conduct a \u201ctough and fulsome review of legacy systems, platforms, and missions\u201d patterned loosely on the base realignment and closure process, or BRAC, of the 1990s. Successfully designing and conducting a BRAC for legacy systems requires a clear definition of what constitutes a legacy system. A platform\u2019s age and related maintenance costs may appear as straightforward criteria. Systems nearing the end of their service lives cost much more to maintain, so retiring them in favor of newer systems is pragmatic. However, the services\u2019 record here is decidedly mixed and inconsistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example is the U.S. Air Force\u2019s efforts to cut or eliminate unmanned air systems, such as the MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-4 Global Hawk, despite their organic kill chain capabilities and mission flexibility<\/a>, while repeatedly delaying programs to replace the venerable B-52 Stratofortress, which is now envisioned to remain on duty through its centenary.<\/p>\n\n\n\t