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GAO says the Pentagon is not maximizing the load capability for the USAF airlift fleet, including dual use tankers. The reason, says the Congressional watchdog agency in a new report, is that Air Mobility Command doesn’t collect enough data to make a good determination about efficient use. Actually, AMC agrees and has been working on that very problem. However, as GAO points out, although AMC wants to maximize the airlift fleet’s load-carrying capability to move troops and cargo as efficiently—and cheaply—as possible, its primary mission, per DOD, is to deliver “the right items to the right place at the right time.” Are these conflicting goals? Yes.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
