A GAO official told the House Armed Services Committee that the Pentagon still doesn’t have a portfolio-wide plan for tactical aviation, which would help itself and Congress identify true priorities and avoid duplication of effort. He also said the agency is worried that the F-35’s engine shortcomings are being addressed without an approved business case, and it noted the joint fighter is chronically missing targets.

The U.S. Air Force Academy is doubling its sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR) workforce from 12 to 24 employees after a recent Pentagon report showed incidents rising across the service academies.

Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts increasingly note the challenging long-term trends the service faces in convincing young Americans to join: Declining numbers of eligible candidates, lower interest and propensity to serve, and reduced exposure to military people and service. But while leaders see no “silver bullet” to solve those issues, the Air Force Recruiting Service is pressing ahead with a push to attract more women to serve.

Today’s recruiting challenges are systemic to our national circumstances. The military is in a more competitive environment than ever, at a time when other societal changes are also working to the services’ disadvantage.

A new report from a study group organized by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory hopes to shape a crucial emerging debate in Washington: how to manage two nuclear near-peers for the first time in U.S. history. The study argues the U.S. should consider increasing the number of its nuclear forces to boost its chances of surviving an enemy attack.