The sequestration cuts had a significant impact on much of the military, and that included the Air Force, which was required to ground about one-third of its combat fleet. However, after three months of inactivity they will take to the skies once again after the branch received some additional funding, Military Times reports.
Air Combat Command was able to find the necessary $208 million thanks to a recent move by Congress approving a reprogramming of allocation. The change took effect immediately, with 16 fighter, bomber and Air Warfare Center's Weapons School squadrons resuming training missions and becoming combat ready on Monday. The Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team was also impacted by the additional funding. Officials applauded the move, but say there's still work to be done.
"Since April we've been in a precipitous decline with regard to combat readiness," ACC Commander Gen. Mike Hostage said in a release. "Returning to flying is an important first step, but what we have ahead of us is a measured climb to recovery."
Military officials expect the grounded squadrons will be combat ready by the end of this year, according to NBC News. However, the Thunderbirds likely won't be back at air shows until 2014.