HASC Budget Adds Hypersonic Weapons, A-10s, Strykers, But Fewer Bureaucrats

HASC Budget Adds Hypersonic Weapons, A-10s, Strykers, But Fewer Bureaucrats
HASC Budget Adds Hypersonic Weapons, A-10s, Strykers, But Fewer Bureaucrats

The budget battles have begun, with Republicans and Democrats already sparring over Rep. Mac Thornberry’s call to slash DoD civilians by 20 percent.

Sen. Reed Presses Wilson, Goldfein On JSTARS Plans

Sen. Reed Presses Wilson, Goldfein On JSTARS Plans
Sen. Reed Presses Wilson, Goldfein On JSTARS Plans

In a hearing this morning, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, said he’s skeptical about the current plan to retire the JSTARS radar surveillance plane because the Air Force has been inconsistent, not just about JSTARS, but a host of other programs.

Gen. Holmes Sketches Multi-Domain Warfare; A-10 Wings Funded in ’19

Gen. Holmes Sketches Multi-Domain Warfare; A-10 Wings Funded in ’19
Gen. Holmes Sketches Multi-Domain Warfare; A-10 Wings Funded in ’19

WASHINGTON: The Air Force and Army couldn’t start an important set of tabletop wargames last week because of the government shutdown. Air Force Gen. Mike Holmes revealed the information when he disclosed today that the Air Force was starting multi-domain war games to hammer out how the land and air services would work together in…

Clash of Strategies: Capability Or Capacity, Today Or Tomorrow?

Clash of Strategies: Capability Or Capacity, Today Or Tomorrow?
Clash of Strategies: Capability Or Capacity, Today Or Tomorrow?

As the Pentagon finishes its strategic review, the stage is set for another struggle over whether to ready for a high-end war with Russia or China or just manage the current, much lower intensity battles around the world. In military terms it’s a choice between capability and capacity. The outcome will shape the four services…

Trump’s Promised Big Boost To DoD Evaporates In 2018 Budget

Trump’s Promised Big Boost To DoD Evaporates In 2018 Budget
Trump’s Promised Big Boost To DoD Evaporates In 2018 Budget

Campaign promises of a larger, more ready and fully modernized military have slammed into budget realities as the Trump administration’s fiscal 2018 budget for the Pentagon shows only modest growth above what the Obama administration had projected. Funding at those levels will support a 305-ship Navy, not the 350 ships that candidate Trump proposed back in…

Reaper Drones: The New Close Air Support Weapon

Reaper Drones: The New Close Air Support Weapon
Reaper Drones: The New Close Air Support Weapon

CORRECTS: Name and title of operations group commander CREECH AIR FORCE BASE: Over two days of briefings here by everyone from pilots to maintainers to the operations group commander of the 432nd Wing, one message rang out loud and clear: the Reaper has grown into a key Close Air Support (CAS) tool for the US military and…

Drones Do Excellent Urban Close Air Support; Mideast F-35A Deployment In Several Years

Drones Do Excellent Urban Close Air Support; Mideast F-35A Deployment In Several Years
Drones Do Excellent Urban Close Air Support; Mideast F-35A Deployment In Several Years

WASHINGTON: If Congress was skeptical of bombers and fighters doing Close Air Support, how will they react to MQ-9s doing the toughest CAS mission around — taking out targets in the close confines of an urban fight? Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the soon-to-retire head of Air Combat Command, told reporters this morning that the Reaper is…

A-10 To Fly Til 2021; Plans To Buy More F-35As: Goldfein

A-10 To Fly Til 2021; Plans To Buy More F-35As: Goldfein
A-10 To Fly Til 2021; Plans To Buy More F-35As: Goldfein

WASHINGTON: Congressional supporters can heave a sigh of relief with word from Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein that the ugly and effective A-10 will keep flying through 2021. But Goldfein seemed to make pretty clear that the plane will probably be retired after that because Close Air Support missions can be carried out by…

McCain’s 300 Low-End Fighters A ‘Great Idea:’ CSAF Gen. Goldfein

McCain’s 300 Low-End Fighters A ‘Great Idea:’ CSAF Gen. Goldfein
McCain’s 300 Low-End Fighters A ‘Great Idea:’ CSAF Gen. Goldfein

WASHINGTON: A key part of Sen. John McCain’s alternative defense budget proposal is the rapid purchase of 300 “low-cost, light-attack fighters that would require minimal work to develop.” I asked Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein today what he thought of McCain’s proposal, contained in Restoring American Power. “Great idea,” he said, pointing…

Outbound SecAf James Warns Successor: ‘Beware The Unknown Unknowns’

Outbound SecAf James Warns Successor: ‘Beware The Unknown Unknowns’
Outbound SecAf James Warns Successor: ‘Beware The Unknown Unknowns’

PENTAGON: Deborah Lee James came to the Pentagon and faced a trial by fire. Within a month of her confirmation, a major scandal involving cheating by nuclear missile troops threatened to further tarnish the Air Force’s image and to raise fundamental questions among America’s allies about our ability to provide the nuclear umbrella they all depend on. The…

Air Force Hasn’t Done Homework On A-10 Retirement: GAO

Air Force Hasn’t Done Homework On A-10 Retirement: GAO
Air Force Hasn’t Done Homework On A-10 Retirement: GAO

UPDATED: With Sen. Ayotte’s Comments WASHINGTON: The Air Force doesn’t know enough about the missions that A-10 pilots fly or how it would replace the aircraft after retirement, a congressional watchdog says, putting yet another nail into the service’s attempts to save money and retire the much-loved Warthog. Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate…

KC-46 Passes Milestone — Finally; Kendall OKs LRIP

KC-46 Passes Milestone — Finally; Kendall OKs LRIP
KC-46 Passes Milestone — Finally; Kendall OKs LRIP

WASHINGTON: After more than a decade of missteps by the Pentagon, the Air Force and Boeing, the airborne tanker program today took a major step forward as the KC-46 passed Milestone C. “The KC-46 is ready to take the next step,” Gen. Dave Goldfein, Air Force Chief of Staff, says in a statement announcing the approval…

F-35A Looks A Lock For IOC OK; CAS As Good As F-16

F-35A Looks A Lock For IOC OK; CAS As Good As F-16
F-35A Looks A Lock For IOC OK; CAS As Good As F-16

WASHINGTON: All the boxes are ticked for the Air Force to declare the F-35A ready for combat. The final clearance hasn’t been given by the man who will decide, Air Combat Command’s Gen. Hawk Carlisle, but he has received all the data on the planes, pilots and maintainers, said Lt. Col. Steven Anderson, 388th Maintenance…

If Boomers Get Special Account, So Should B-21, ICBMs: SecAF James

If Boomers Get Special Account, So Should B-21, ICBMs: SecAF James
If Boomers Get Special Account, So Should B-21, ICBMs: SecAF James

WASHINGTON: Oops. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James sounded a tad peeved and seemed to pretty much put the kibosh on plans to buy two replacements for the A-10 Close Air Support (CAS) plane. Why? “You just put your finger on it. Where do we get the money,” she told me at a DefenseOne event this…