Le 19 mars avait lieu \u00e0 Washington la pr\u00e9sentation d’un rapport du Mitchell Institute, de l’Air Force Association, le principal lobby<\/em> de l’USAF. Il s’agit du rapport<\/a> Combat Air Forces in Crisis<\/em>, sous la direction de Rebecca Grant, auteur tr\u00e8s proche de l’AFA. Ce rapport examine la crise de l’USAF, et des forces a\u00e9riennes de combat US plus pr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment, au stade actuel; crise non pas mena\u00e7ante, mais d’ores et d\u00e9j\u00e0 active et parvenue \u00e0 son point paroxystique.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Extrait de la pr\u00e9sentation du rapport: «To the extent that the sky is going to fall, it has already fallen.<\/em> It is too late to avert the crisis<\/em><\/strong>. Old platforms and years of inadequate procurement have set the force structure on an all-but-irreversible downward course for at least the next several years and probably much longer. Now, the Air Force is assessing the risks and remedies that will help it find ways to cope with an extremely high proportion of legacy aircraft in Combat Air Forces.<\/em>»<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Diverses pr\u00e9sentations ont accompagn\u00e9 la pr\u00e9sentation du rapport. Toutes allaient, bien sûr, dans le m\u00eame sens. Le Daily Report<\/em> de l’AFA de ce jour (20 mars<\/a>) donne des extraits, notamment, de l’intervention de Loren B. Thompson, fortement orient\u00e9e sur la situation budg\u00e9taire de crise.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Thompson est extr\u00eamement pessimiste sur les perspectives. Il semble notamment d\u00e9mentir les analyses qui avan\u00e7aient que le programme JSF, r\u00e9duit en dotation pour l’ann\u00e9e FY2010, serait ensuite acc\u00e9l\u00e9r\u00e9.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n «The aerospace industry was badly rattled recently by a leaked memo that the Office of Management and Budget wanted the Pentagon to consider postponing a new aerial tanker by five years and killing the 2018 bomber project outright. But that wasn’t all OMB had its eyes on, according to Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n »Speaking yesterday in Washington, D.C., at an event sponsored by AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies, Thompson said the OMB passed on other \u00ab\u00a0suggestions\u00a0\u00bb that signal the White House’s intent to cut defense programs deeply. \u00ab\u00a0What you didn’t hear about,\u00a0\u00bb Thompson claimed, were suggestions to cut the airborne laser, the transformational satellite communications system, further C-130 purchases, and even a new aircraft carrier. And, that was just for Fiscal 2010. In 2011, Thompson asserted, OMB wants the Pentagon to terminate the F-22 and Navy F\/A-18 Super Hornet and sharply reduce buys of the F-35. \u00ab\u00a0These are exciting times,\u00a0\u00bb Thompson joked, \u00ab\u00a0like Pearl Harbor was exciting.\u00a0\u00bb Unless China suddenly gets visibly belligerent or terrorist attacks in the US resume, Thompson sees little traction for keeping all these programs in a budget drowning in red ink. \u00ab\u00a0This spells big trouble for US airpower,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/em>»<\/p>\n<\/p>\n