Aviation Limbo

摘要

The Department of Defense has not submitted a 30-year aviation plan to help guide congressional lawmakers as they craft the 2010 defense spending plan, opting to wait until the Quadrennial Defense Review is finished.rn1. The 30-year aviation plan, mandated by law passed in 2009, is meant to serve as a strategic and resource-planning exercise for the Navy and Air Force.rn2. Legislation for the plan was born from hearings at which the Navy and Air Force raised alarm over major fighter jet shortfalls.rn3. The aviation plan was based on another congressional idea: the 30-year shipbuilding plan, for which Congress adopted legislation several years ago.rnCongressional defense authorizers are frustrated with Navy and Pentagon officials for opting not to submit a 30-year aviation plan as mandated by law.rnInstead of laying out the Navy's long-term procurement plan for aircraft with the fiscal 2010 budget request, as instructed by Congress, the Pentagon decided to punt the submission until the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) is completed later this year or early 2010.