Lest anyone misunderstand the severe need for new Air Force equipment, Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, said Wednesday that the service is in the midst of the largest recapitalization effort in its history. Larger than post-Vietnam. Larger than what was needed after the Gulf War. And certainly larger than the reconstitution needed after 1999’s Operation Allied Force, which was a big deal at the time. Moseley pointed out during his remarks at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that USAF’s legacy hardware is “significantly less capable” than the state of the art equipment being purchased to replace it, is more expensive to maintain, and requires a larger footprint once it arrives in theater. And don’t forget that old aircraft break more often.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Europe across the Middle East to the Persian Gulf on July 25 in a 32-hour flight, as conflicts continued to roil the area with U.S. troops coming under attack in Iraq and Syria on July 25 and July 26, U.S. officials told…