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.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…
