Sovereignty alert: The first (and forgotten) priority

Seven years after the tragic events of 9/11, the men and women of Air National Guard (ANG) units around the nation keep a constant and largely unknown vigil to prevent another terrorist attack and protect our homeland. However, this vital mission is at risk — from a lack of resources and a lack of urgency.

Their very success in preventing another disastrous attack has dangerously relegated the Air Sovereignty Alert (ASA) mission to the proverbial back burner.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, it has been a great honor to work with and on behalf of all the members of the military. But the citizen soldiers of the National Guard and the dual missions — state and federal — they perform hold a special place in my heart.

Little known to many Americans, the 16 ANG units around the county are vital to our safety and security. The ASA mission provides critical patrols across our airspace, providing security to the nation’s cities and special events such as the presidential conventions, the Super Bowl and other high-risk targets.

Some of these patrols originate from my district in South Jersey: the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City has performed almost 6,000 flying hours since 9/11, securing the skies over New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as other cities on the East Coast.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and ANG are facing a tremendous obstacle — the so-called bathtub effect on the fighter fleet. The bathtub effect refers to a graphic representation of the fleet of current fourth-generation fighter aircraft used by ANG that is running out of flying hours and thus being removed from the inventory (a downward trend), resulting in a flat line, when no new aircraft will be acquired. This shortage — or bottom of the bathtub — will remain for several years until the F-35 begins to trickle into the ANG (an upward trend).

The ANG will be disproportionately impacted because their aircraft are “hand-me-downs” from the USAF. The backbone of the ASA fleet, F-15s and F-16s, is aging rapidly with no timely replacements. A sobering fact: in eight years, 80 percent of fighter aircraft currently defending the U.S. will run out of flying hours and be decommissioned. However, its intended replacement, the F-35, will not even begin production until 2016 and may slip further behind.

Once in production, there is no assurance the F-35 will be given to the ANG in time or in adequate numbers to address the real and growing shortfall. The subsequent gaps in air patrol coverage by the ANG constitute unacceptable risks to our nation’s security.

The solution to the bathtub problem is simple — an interim buy of 4.5-generation aircraft for the ANG. Such a buy is not unprecedented, as the Navy has demonstrated with its successful Super-Hornet program that bridges the gap between the older F-18 (fourth generation) and the F-35 (fifth generation) fighter aircraft. The purchase of an F-15 or F-16 fighter with updated avionics, radar and communications equipment would provide the ANG with a lower-cost aircraft than the fifth-generation fighters such as the F-22 and F-35 with almost all the benefits of those fighters (except stealth). In return, the ANG would gain newer, more capable aircraft to perform the ASA mission for many years into the future. In addition, the ANG would be better able to support the USAF fifth- generation fighters in unforeseen combats.

I strongly believe an interim buy of fighter aircraft for the ANG is necessary and will yield many positive benefits to both the USAF and the ANG. I am pleased the new USAF leadership is looking into this issue — an issue I raised with Gen. Craig McKinley during his recent visit to South Jersey. I believe he has taken a forward-looking, strategic view of the ANG and the ASA mission and is considering all options to address the fighter gap. I urge the USAF and Congress to be equally forward-thinking and proactive in addressing this real and critical issue facing the ANG. We cannot let our nation’s security go down the drain of the proverbial bathtub.

LoBiondo is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.