The U.S. Armed Forces protect and preserve the United States as a free nation. U.S. forces help assure the physical security of the United States as a democracy and protect U.S. interests abroad. The basic military strategy of the United States is the deterrence of war by making a potential aggressor unwilling to take the risk of starting a conflict. The security interests of the United States and its allies continue to be challenged by the sustained growth and improved performance of Soviet military forces, Eastern bloc, and surrogate exploitation of regional conflicts, and instabilities in many areas of the world. The Soviets continue to increase and modernize their nuclear and conventional forces as well as their capabilities for projecting military power. Together with surrogates, they are attempting to weaken the ties between the United States and its allies and extend their influence in the Third World. Soviet military interventions further impede the peaceful resolution of Third World problems and contribute to regional instability by promoting wider conflict. U.S. military strategy seeks to deter attacks against the United States and its allies, limit Soviet opportunities for coercion, and provide the flexibility to respond appropriately to aggression and terrorism. Therefore, U.S. forces must be capable of operating effectively throughout a spectrum extending from low-intensity conflict to strategic nuclear war. Readiness, sustainability, modernization, and sound force structure are imperatives of the U. S. military posture. Through the President's commitment to long-term defense modernization, our forces have reached a higher peacetime level of effectiveness than at any other time. When the President first came intò office, he was faced with ten previous years of U.S. military decline while the threat was continually increasing. During the past five years, real growth in our military investment accounts (procurement, research, development, test and evaluation, and military construction) has resulted in the modernization of our equipment and a simultaneous increase in our readiness and sustainability for support of larger forces in the U.S and overseas. Because of the steady rebuilding of our military capability, our strategic forces have become more capable and survivable; our tactical aircraft mission capable rates and wartime fighter sortie generation capability have drastically improved; our strategic airlift fleet has increased; and our command, control and communications have become faster and more survivable. All of these improvements to our force structure enable the U.S. military to better carry out the national security policy of protecting and defending American interests throughout the world. The Fiscal Year 1987 investment in research, development, test and evaluation, procurement and military construction provides the future force structure capability to meet our national security objectives. The Fiscal Year 1987 investment programs account for 56% of the entire AF budget request. We feel this mix represents the most reasonable balance between operating our forces at a high level of readiness and investing in the development of future weapon system capabilities. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Our qualitative edge over the Soviets has been narrowing due to the large Soviet expenditures in science and technology and an intense program to acquire our latest weapons technology. Given our strategy to counter the large quantities of Soviet weapons with our technologically superior weapons, we must continue and increase a broad-based scientific and technology program across all mission areas. We cannot wait until the Soviets further close the technology gap because of the long lead-time required to field weapon systems utilizing new technologies. Further, we must shorten the development cycle for technologies which promise a high payoff in countering the projected threat. To transition our science and technology efforts into development and production, we require a sound industrial base that can operate in both peace and wartime. Today's industrial base for producing defense equipment consists of privatelyowned and government-owned facilities. The Air Force's Industrial Base Program analyzes current industry capabilities in light of acquisition programs and develops goals that tie industrial productivity enhancements to wartime responsiveness. We must also improve readiness and sustainability despite increased weapon system performance and complexity. Our aircraft have to be able to deploy quickly to austere bases, and sustain high combat sortie rates. To accomplish these demanding requirements, the Air Force's Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) 2000 program is designed to accelerate R&M efforts in both fielded and new weapon systems. The two research and development programs that offer high payoffs are the R&M Maturation and Technology Insertion Program, and the Productivity, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability Program. To develop a large array of sophisticated yet reliable and maintainable weapon systems within a period of austere resources, we must continue our efforts to improve our stewardship of the defense dollars allotted to us. We have instituted several acquisition management enhancement programs that are intended to reduce the cost of weapon systems, improve the spare parts acquisition cycle, create a top notch professional acquisition staff, and encourage a greater cooperation with our NATO partners in developing and acquiring weapon systems. Through these and other programs, we feel we can better manage the limited funds available for Air Force programs. Our development programs and production lines can lead to improved war-fighting capability only if our forces are trained and ready to use this modern equipment, our peacetime stocks can support day-to-day operations and training, and we have the necessary repair facilities, spare parts, and consumables to sustain our combat forces. To improve our aircrew training, we have a full array of aircraft simulators that complement actual flight time, enhance combat capability, and improve safety. Results of recent aircrew combat competitions show that our pilot wartime proficiencies have reached their highest peacetime levels in years. Our readiness has also improved with the increased emphasis placed on our peacetime spares procurement. We have kept up our commitment to funding both the initial spares needed to support new weapon systems and the replenishment spares necessary to support operations and training programs. While revised fiscal guidance has impacted our war reserve stock procurements, we are still able to fund all new wartime kit authorizations for our fighting units. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The fundamental objective of U. S. nuclear forces is to remove all incentives for direct attack against the United States and its allies by promising any attacker a devastating outcome. The Soviet Union has continued to challenge the U.S. guarantee of effective retaliation and has threatened U.S. deterrent capabilities by strengthening certain measures of Soviet nuclear strength. To counter growing Soviet nuclear war-fighting potential, the United States gives high priority to the modernization of its nuclear forces and the study of means for defending against ballistic missile attack. Equitable and verifiable arms reduction agreements are being pursued in parallel with modernization programs. The goal of the United States is a more stable nuclear balance at lower levels of armament. The United States' strategic nuclear forces are composed of sea-launched ballistic missiles, land-based ICBMs, and manned bombers. These forces, known as the Triad, represent our nation's resolve to deter any potential aggressor. The structure of the Triad discourages a first strike against the United States by complicating Soviet efforts to defend against this retaliatory mix of forces. The ability to deter aggression exists only if we have the actual capability and will to retaliate. Since the Air Force is responsible for maintaining two-thirds of the Triad, the land-based ICBMs and the manned bomber, we have continued to seek modernization in both of these areas. We are modernizing our ICBM force through the upgrade of the Minuteman missile, the procurement of the Peacekeeper missile, development of a small mobile missile, and research on technologies to increase the survivability of our ICBM force. In addition, we have upgraded some of our B-52 systems to extend their lifetime and enhance their delivery capability. The B-52, through these improvements, provides an overlap until the Air Force's newest bomber, the B-1B, takes over the penetration role. To meet the expected advances in Soviet defenses, we are continuing the development of the Advanced Technology Bomber and both penetration and standoff missiles. With this new bomber and missile force mix, our homber leg of the Triad will remain a credible deterrent to nuclear aggression well beyond the year 2000. Strategic Defense encompasses detection of Soviet aircraft and missile attack, monitoring space activities, and defense against atmospheric and space-based threats to U.S. forces. These resources reduce the probability of a successful enemy's decapitating first strike attack, thus increasing stability between the United States and the Soviet Union. Atmospheric surveillance and defense are responsible for the protection of North America against the air breathing threat. In Fiscal Year 1987, we will continue replacing the aging Distant Early Warning System with the new North Warning System to provide improved surveillance of the northern approaches. For coastal surveillance, we will continue procurement of the Over-the-Horizon Backscatter Radar. To ensure an effective interceptor force at lowest cost, the Air Force is holding a competition for approximately 300 new interceptors. For space surveillance and defense, we are instituting several improvements to the SPACETRACK system, continuing space defense system tests, and improving space defense command, control and support programs. Ballistic Missile Warning and Attacks Assessment is currently performed by a network of sensors. In Fiscal Year 1987, two new PAVE PAWS sites will be completed. These systems will provide coverage of the southeast and southwest EXECUTIVE SUMMARY sectors to complete 360 degree surveillance against Submarine-launched Ballistic Missiles. The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System will be upgraded by completing the replacement of 20-year old conventional radars at Thule Air Base, Greenland. Finally, the Strategic Defense Initiative is exploring the potential of a system to counter ballistic missiles and their re-entry vehicles in flight. In Fiscal Year 1987, the Strategic Defense Initiative will continue funding five technology development areas: surveillance, acquisition, tracking and kill assessment; kinetic energy weapons; directed energy weapons; battle management/command, control, communications; and system analysis and supporting technology. Without our Strategic Command, Control and Communication (C3) systems, our strategic offensive and defensive weapon systems will not provide a credible deterrent against Soviet first strike. Our Strategic C3 systems link our attack warning, defensive, and strategic retaliatory forces to command centers. They must be effective and reliable in the pre-, trans-, and post attack environment. Our current systems are being upgraded to become more survivable, and new systems are being produced and deployed to provide increased capability. In Fiscal Year 1987, the Air Force will continue development of the Milstar secure, jam-resistant communications system, the Ground Wave Emergency Network, the Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network, and the Worldwide Military Command and Control Information System. We will continue production of Strate Air Command Digital Network terminals and the Defense Satellite Communications System III satellites. Fiscal Year 1987 system upgrades will include the Aircraft Alerting Communications Electromagnetic Pulse Upgrade and the modifications to the EC-135 Post Attack Command and Control System and E-4B command post aircraft. Space systems significantly increase the combat effectiveness of our strategic and conventional forces. The Soviets have recognized the importance of space in military operations and have made great strides in improving their space-based assets. We also have instituted programs to upgrade our space infrastructure of launch and on-orbit facilities, increase the survivability of our space systems, and improve the surveillance, communications, and navigation capabilities of our space systems. Infrastructure upgrades will include: upgrading the Titan 34D to launch shuttle-size satellites; upgrading the Titan II ICBM into a space launch vehicle for smaller satellites; upgrading the Satellite Control Facility data systems computers; and continuing the development and acquisition of the Advanced Remote Tracking Station. Improved performance and survivability of our space systems will be accomplished through: continued development of the Defense Meteorological Satellite and its ground command, control and communication network; continued procurement of improved Navstar Global Positioning System satellites and continued development and test of the Nuclear Detonation Detection System user terminals along with acquisition of the operational satellite segment. Our theater forces still remain a key deterrent to aggression by the Soviet Union and her allies. The numerical advantage enjoyed by the Warsaw Pact has become even more ominous with the introduction of many Soviet technical advances in avionics, aerodynamics, and propulsion systems. To meet this ever increasing qualitative and quantitative threat, we are continuing our modernization programs in tactical aircraft; air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground munitions/missiles; battlefield management command, control, and communication (C3) systems; defense suppression and electronic combat measures; theater nuclear capability; and chemical warfare protective systems and retaliatory weapons. We realize the |