Army Secretary Pete Geren made no bones about the future of the Joint Cargo Aircraft program Thursday during a morning session with Washington-based defense reporters. “The last tactical mile is an Army mission; it’s not an Air Force mission, and we feel it’s important that we control the decision-making and the assets for that,” Geren emphasized. While Congress currently is wrestling with the program’s future and there’s the matter of the losing bidder protest, Geren noted that he believes the program is sound, but that there are some “fundamental issues” that need to be worked out.
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.