AIR AND SPACE FORCES ASSOCIATION (F/K/A AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION)

AFAs lobbyists will be working to add provisions into the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Act. Those specific provisions include: 1.Increasing Resources for the Space Force. Specifically, to increase the services budget and personnel in eleven separate areas. 2.Fully Fund the Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Ensuring the Collaborative Combat Aircraft receives the current Future Years Defense Program plan of allocating $9.0 billion by the end of Fiscal Year 2029. 3.Combat Airpower Modernization and Sustainment. AFA requests the Congress maximize the procurement of new fighters by purchasing 75 F-35As and 36 F-15EXs. The AFA also seeks an increase in sustainment spending to $658 million to modernize existing aircraft. 4.Acquisition Reform. The AFA will be supporting wide-scale defense acquisition reform, such as those proposals offered by Senator Roger Wicker in his plan titled: Restoring Freedoms Forge: American Innovation Unleashed, and legislation such as the Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense or FORGED ACT. We will also be supporting provisions included in the House Armed Services Committees bipartisan legislation: the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery Act or SPEED Act. 5.Sentinel ICBM. The AFA will continue its multi-year efforts to support the prompt acquisition and fielding of the Sentinel ICBM and will be opposing legislative initiatives which are designed to curtail this systems deployment. 6.E-7 Wedgetail. The AFA is working to ensure funding is restored to the E-7 Wedgetail program. 7.CyberPatriot. Created in 2009, with over 20,000 students participating each year, CyberPatriot is an annual middle and high school competition. Schools and other organizations, such as the Civil Air Patrol, create student teams which compete as if they were managing and defending the computer network of a small company. AFA is seeking additional funding for the competition. In addition, the AFA members will work on the following issues: 1.Improvement to Ensure Quality of Care for Tricare Covered Children 2.Basic Allowance for Housing Restoration 3.Increase B-21 (Long Lead Items) 4.Support Sentinel Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent 5.$1.5 billion in funding for Air Force Material Command spares 6.Agile Combat Employment Sustainment