Congressmen Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) and Solomon Ortiz (D-Tex.), writing in an op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor Monday, sounded an increased readiness alarm, citing a classified briefing they had received last month. They said it provided “disturbing” details and the “jaw-dropping” implication that the US armed services are “literally at the breaking point.” They call upon the new Democratic Congress to stop the Administration’s “second-class funding” approach, but they also want to ensure that emergency supplementals do not fund developmental programs. At Pentagon urging, the Air Force and the other services took a broader look at war costs in the latest supplementals, but lawmakers have targeted such Air Force requests as F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to replace legacy aircraft lost in the war.
A semi-autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone shot down an air-to-air target in a Dec. 8 test supported by the U.S. Air Force, a notable milestone in the development of the loyal wingman-type drones that will join the fleets of the USAF, other American services, and allies and adversaries.
