The Air Force has added $16 billion to its original $17.4 billion Fiscal 2007 emergency supplemental request, making a total of $33.4 billion for 2007, Air Force spokesperson Maj. Morshe Araujo told the Daily Report Tuesday. In late October, DOD prompted all the services to rethink their 2007 requests, taking a longer view and adding to their requests where needed. Gen. Ronald Keys, head of Air Combat Command, told defense reporters earlier this month that the Air Force, for one, had “some things we’ve been overlooking.” He was referring to the wear and tear on equipment, whether it’s an aircraft or a down range ground radar. Said Keys, “We’ve primarily been looking at operations and maintenance: How many bullets have you fired? How many bombs have you dropped? How much food have you consumed? … And not the recapitalization of the force.”
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.