Representatives Moore, Tokuda, Jackson introduce legislation to strengthen U.S. Air Force depot-level maintenance partnerships with key foreign allies in the Indo-Pacific
WASHINGTON - Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), and Ronny Jackson (R-TX) introduced the Forward Air Logistics Complex Operation Nodes (FALCON) Act to strengthen U.S. Air Force depot-level maintenance partnerships with key foreign allies in the Indo-Pacific, such as Australia and the Republic of Korea.
“The tyranny of distance in the Pacific is one of the greatest concerns I hear as the congressional representative of Hill Air Force Base,” said Rep. Moore. “In the event of a conflict in the region, U.S. logistics and supply routes back to the continental U.S. would almost certainly be disrupted, putting the Air Force’s ability to send aircraft back home for depot-level repair and overhaul under severe threat. I’m leading legislation that requires Air Force and Pentagon leadership to plan out where the U.S. could partner with key allies on aircraft sustainment and developing forward sustainment positions in the Pacific Theater. This will strengthen readiness, increase burden sharing with our allies for the costs of aircraft maintenance, and ultimately reduce costs for the American taxpayer. It will also highlight Hill Air Force Base’s leadership role, serving as the nation’s fighter depot center of excellence and managing a satellite depot facility in Japan.”
“Positioned at the strategic crossroads of the Pacific, Hawai'i understands the real-world challenges of sustaining air operations across vast distances and complex logistical networks. Being on the frontlines means we see firsthand how critical it is to not only train with our allies, but also plan together for maintaining, repairing, and resupplying aircraft during a crisis,” said Rep. Tokuda. “That’s why I’m proud to introduce the FALCON Act with Rep. Moore and Rep. Jackson, to ensure our multinational exercises go beyond flying in formation, and focus on coordinated depot-level maintenance, repair, and sustainment. Strengthening these partnerships and our interoperability are essential to our readiness and collective security in the Indo-Pacific.”
"The FALCON Act is a critical step towards elevating our logistics and sustainment needs in the Indo-Pacific, ensuring America's Air Force will be ready to fight and dominate if called upon," said Rep. Jackson. "I'm proud to support this important piece of legislation and will always fight to advance the capabilities of Sheppard Air Force Base, home of the 82nd Training Wing and the Air Force's logistics and maintenance technical training!"
The FALCON Act requires the Secretary of the Air Force to incorporate depot-level maintenance, repair, and sustainment as priorities for at least one multinational military exercise in the Indo-Pacific each year, such as Rim of the Pacific or Resolute Force Pacific. This could come in the form of binational or multinational planning sessions with key allies on munitions stock levels and resupply routes, mutual recognition of airworthiness and maintenance certifications, or emergency tabletop exercises for dealing with contested logistics environments.
The bill also directs the Secretary of the Air Force to conduct a department-level study on the action steps and timelines necessary to establish more formal aircraft co-sustainment partnerships with Australia and the Republic of Korea. The report would investigate the creation of emergency FALCONS for the repair of fixed-wing aircraft on Korean and Australian soil. These partnerships would be designed to operate in a contested logistics scenario where returning broken aircraft to the continental U.S. may not be possible.
Background: Utah is home to the Ogden Air Logistics Complex (OO-ALC) at Hill Air Force Base, one of three depot-level maintenance and repair facilities in the Department of the Air Force. Leadership at OO-ALC also manages Support Center Pacific at Kadena Air Force Base in Japan, a geographically separated unit of the 309th Electronics Maintenance Group in Ogden. SCP conducts in-theater depot-level maintenance, repair, and overhaul across a wide range of fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms, including F-15s, KC-135s, and MQ-9s.
A one-pager on the bill can be found here.
Bill text can be found here.
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