The Air Force and Pentagon are not adequately rewarding industry for taking the risks needed to develop breakthrough aircraft and weapons, said former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, speaking at ASC15 on Tuesday. “I think there’s a risk we’re taking now as a country” by not “pushing and asking specifically for those breakthroughs and funding them as hedge bets” against potential project failures. “I go back to the 1950s and I think to myself: How many aircraft programs did we have back in the ‘50s? At least 20. How many aircraft [development] programs did we have last year? One,” Wynne stressed, singling out the KC-46 tanker. Even once the long-range strategic bomber program kicks off, “it’s not the same as having 20 risk-taking companies putting money up knowing full well that you may not succeed, but every one of them driving a different aspect of flight,” he added.
How Miss America 2024 Took the Air Force Somewhere New
Dec. 20, 2024
When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.