The Long Range Strike program, a Quadrennial Defense Review-mandated new bomber-like capability, will slip per the budget to be released today, but “less than 12 months, more than six,” a senior USAF official told reporters Friday on background. He said the change will give the service a little breathing room to help it complete various trade studies to determine just what kind of system—missiles, a bomber, an orbital strike system, or whatever—is best to meet the aggressive timetable. The QDR set a 2018 deadline.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.