The House Armed Services strategic forces panel want to prohibit the Air Force from retiring its high-flying U-2 reconnaissance aircraft indefinitely “unless” the Pentagon certifies that it does not need the U-2 to fill in any of the intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance “gaps identified” in the 2005 QDR. The panel’s 2007 defense budget markup statement was not the first expression of Congressional concern over the U-2 plan. Rep. Curt Weldon, chairman House Armed Services tacair panel, questioned the move in early April, saying he had received indication that combatant commanders had some reservations.
B-1 Bomber Task Force Deploys to Japan
Oct. 18, 2025
A quartet of B-1Bs from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas have landed at Misawa AB, Japan, likely for a series of exercises with Japanese, U.S. and Australian forces.
