The air chiefs of 13 countries, meeting in Amman, Jordan, recently for the fifth Middle East Air Symposium, talked about the challenges that the region is facing and the unconventional uses of air forces in recent operations. Hosted by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the countries of Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, France, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, and the US all sent representatives. Among the hot topics was the use of airpower in non-traditional intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance roles. USAF Maj. Gen. Allen Peck, the deputy Combined Forces Air Component Commander for US Central Command, explained it this way: “NTISR is a marriage of convenience and necessity.”
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
