US Air Force chiefs have massive expansion plans. Will Trump approve?

My story in The Times got cut by half so here is the full version because I think it's interesting and there are a lot of facts that were left out in the paper: US AIR FORCE chiefs want to go back to Cold War-size combat aircraft strength to be ready for a war with Russia or China. A new plan outlined this week would see the number of operational squadrons increase by 24 per cent from the current 312 to 386. At the height of the Cold War when a conflict with the Soviet Union was an ever-present threat, the US had 401 squadrons. The bill for creating 74 extra operational squadrons, including training 40,000 additional air force personnel and civilians at a cost of more than $5 billion a year, would represent a rearmament programme not seen since the presidency of Ronald Reagan. However, the argument for more fighters, bombers, surveillance aircraft and refuelling tankers, presented by Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, reflects the new US national defence strategy announced in January. This shifted the main focus of America’s military away from counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism towards confronting the threat posed by competing major powers, specifically Russia and China. An extra 74 squadrons could add between 888 and 1,776 aircraft to the US Air Force, depending on the size of the individual squadron ( 12 to 24). Highlighting the current military exercise in Russia involving 300,000 Russian and Chinese troops, Ms Wilson told a conference outside Washington: “We must see the world as it is. That was why the national defence strategy explicitly recognises that we have returned to an era of great power competition.” She said the air force was too small to cope with current and future commitments. As part of the new-look force, if approved by the White House and Congress, there would be seven more fighter squadrons, five extra bomber squadrons, and 15 additional tanker squadrons to ensure combat pilots could cover the distances from American bases to Russia and China. Both Russia and China are engaged in a comprehensive military modernisation programme, each having developed stealth combat fighters to rival the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter. Russia’s air force currently has 1,176 “combat-capable” fixed-wing aircraft, China, 2,397, the US Air Force, 1,478, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance for 2018. These figures do not include support aircraft, such as refuelling tankers. The US is in the process of introducing its new fifth-generation F-35 across the armed services and is developing a long-range nuclear-capable bomber, the B-21 Raider, to replace the ageing B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Underlining the vast increase in funding required for boosting the air force by 74 extra squadrons, each F-35 is estimated to cost $85 million, the B-21 bomber, $564 million, and the new supertanker under development, the KC-46A Pegasus, $147.4 million. ends