The compromise defense authorization bill announced this week includes an additional $331.1 million and 2,000 more airmen than the Air Force initially had proposed in the fiscal 2015 budget request to account for additional personnel needed to keep A-10s flying.

Negotiators for the fiscal 2015 National Defense Authorization Act set an Air Force end strength of 312,980, up from the service's plan for 310,900.

Air Force officials had said the standoff with Congress over plans to retire the A-10 could affect readiness and delay other programs, such as the transfer of about 800 maintainers who work on A-10s to jobs working on the F-35. They warned the delay could push back the initial operational capability of the Air Force's F-35 variant, now set for late 2016.

"Armed Services members recognize the limited maintenance manpower capacity in the Air Force's tactical fighter programs, which has become acute during Operation Inherent Resolve," a House Armed Services Committee summary of the bill states.

Lawmakers are pushing to authorize $3.4 billion for sustaining the operation targeting Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria. The funding would expand surveillance, reconnaissance and airstrikes, all of which have mostly been handled by the Air Force.

The Air Force is the only service to see an increase over its proposed force structure, with the end strength of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps set at the same level requested by



The rest of the proposal, which awaits final passage and President Obama's signature, aims to block every plan by the Air Force to move or retire any of its aircraft.

The most controversial part of the budget plan has been the retirement of 343 A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jets, a move the Air Force said would save $3.7 billion over five years. The compromise language hashed out by House and Senate negotiators blocks the service's plan but adds the $330.1 million to keep the jets flying.

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The bill includes a provision that could let the service remove some A-10s from flight, subject to multiple Pentagon reviews. The service could move 36 aircraft from active duty to backup flying status, or backup inventory status 30 days after the defense secretary has received an independent assessment by the Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation.

The evaluation must show alternative ways to provide manpower to maintain the service's fighter fleet and field the F-35, and provide evidence that moving the aircraft to backup status would not degrade the readiness of the fighter fleet or significantly delay the fielding of F-35s.

Putting the A-10s in backup status would mean the aircraft would stay with their unit, even flying periodically, but would not be combat-coded, according to Senate staff. Congress wants the Air Force to justify that it needs the additional personnel to avoid degrading the readiness of the fleet, and needs the personnel to avoid a delay in fielding the F-35.

The bill also calls on the Defense Department to study close-air support missions. If the Defense Department can meet all the provisions before the end of fiscal 2015, the service can move A-10s to backup status. Funds that become available as a result must be moved to other high priority Defense Department programs.

The compromise exposes a longstanding policy disagreement between the Air Force and Congress over the best aircraft to conduct close-air support. Congress isn't buying the Air Force position that it can do close-air support with other platforms, said Todd Harrison, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

"It wasn't a total loss for the Air Force, however," Harrison said. "It is allowed to reduce the readiness of A-10 squadrons, so that's almost like a partial retirement. It won't save nearly as much money as retiring the entire fleet, but it does save some resources that can be applied elsewhere."

Lawmakers are also blocking the service's plans for the MC-12 Liberty manned surveillance aircraft. The service had sought to transfer the aircraft to U.S. Special Operations Command. However, the bill would block this move until the Defense Department and SOCOM provide justification for the transfer.

The Air Force has already transferred its deployed MC-12s to the Army, with the last squadron transferring command from the 4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron to the Army's Joint Task Force Thor on Oct. 1.

Blocking this transfer would save $49.6 million, according to House Armed Services Committee summary of the bill.

In addition to the A-10, the compromise blocks any move to retire MQ-1B Predators, U-2s, seven E-2 AWACS surveillance planes, KC-10 Extenders and KC-135 Stratotankers. The language blocks movement in fiscal 2015 and requires additional studies to be presented to Congress on the impact of the cuts.

The bill also blocks the Defense Department from researching a 2017 round of base closures, a move defense and Air Force officials have said is necessary to address excess infrastructure.

The Air Force would receive funding to buy eight more MQ-9 Reaper drones. The compromise fully funds the Defense Department's request for F-35s across all services, including $1.6 billion for research and development, and authorizes $6.63 billion to buy 34 F-35s, 26 of which are the Air Force variants.

Lawmakers also call on the Air Force to take a different approach to the replacement of its T-1A Jayhawks, twin engine jets used for advanced pilot training. The bill calls on the service to produce a report on the options for replacing or upgrading the T-1A, to include possibly leasing aircraft.