Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
3/6/2015
B-2 availability is increasing because of about 20 projects that help the Air Force manage its signature and parts supply, Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements told members of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Subcommittee on March 4. Holmes was responding to a question by Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-Mo.), whose district includes Whiteman AFB, home to B-2s. The service is in the process of developing software which would indicate to airmen failing parts before they go bad. “In fact one of the biggest contributions to the availability challenges for that airplane is maintenance of those materials,” Dr. William LaPlante, Assistant Air Force Secretary for Acquisition, told subcommittee members. “That is actually something that is going in the right direction. The availability of that airplane is actually getting better because of that work.”
Absence DMS Upgrade Could Hurt Force
After a recent Air Force announcement that the B-2 Defensive Management System could see cuts if Budget Control Act budget caps are not boosted, LaPlante cautioned to subcommittee members that if the DMS is cut, the plane won’t be able to operate in a modern, contested environment. “We have to do that program,” he said. Maj. Gen. James Martin, Air Force Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget, during a February Pentagon budget briefing said the B-2 DMS program could see a funding reduction or a cancelation if sequestration returns. The Air Force has asked for $272 million for the B-2 DMS in its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request.
