HCS Air Force announce cuts

The HCSAF have followed the HCSN in detailing how they will handle their portion of the 10% cut in the military budget followed by a 5 year freeze. The most notable cut will be to the F-40 fleet, although it is in a long-term decline it was originally expected that over a 1000 would see the 2120s, now it will just be a much smaller number.

• F-45C order stays at 900 but will be stretched out further meaning F-45C production will extend into the early 2120s. The third generation F-45 will be delayed until the "late 2120s" with a mid-production update of the C planned for 2120.
• F-40 fleet to be reduced to "around" 300 by 2120, this will be the 260 F-40S rebuilt and updated aircraft plus a small number of other marks. Thus around 2000 of these aircraft will be withdrawn over the rest of this decade. The F-47 programme will remain at 1000 and around 400 F-45Cs will be built this decade which means that by 2120 the HCSAF fighter fleet will see a real drop of around 600 aircraft.
• A-84FM order reduced to 80 from 120, A-84 fleet to be reduced in real terms to 1500.
• Next generation A-85QA survives (it had been rumoured it would be canceled) but delayed until 2121. COIN fleet to be kept at current strength though new build A-85NT production to remain at low rate for rest of this decade.
• RQ-2 Patroller UAS order reduced to 75 and also delayed until 2114.
• RQ-1 Kestral UAS "delayed" though the actual service date was unknown anyway.
• T-1M trainer programme to be changed with combat avionics no longer included meaning the jet trainers will no longer be available for the light attack role (which has seldom been needed in any case).
• C-486 Cargomaster fleet to be withdrawn a year earlier.
• A planned upgrade of the AH-50 Dragonfly anti-tank helicopter will now be reworked (i.e. cheaper).
• Six airbases will be closed and 17 will have planned works either postponed or canceled.
• Two planned new airbases on Cloneworld and Daggaddon will now not go ahead.