The Air Force has submitted to Congress nearly $17 billion in unfunded requirements for Fiscal 2008. That is nearly three times USAF’s $5.7 billion 2007 wish list and reportedly is more than the Army ($11 billion), Navy ($5.7 billion), and Marine Corps ($3.2 billon) submitted for their 2008 unfunded priority lists. At the head of the Air Force’s top 25 priority items is $2.6 billion to purchase replacements for aircraft that the service says have either been lost or stressed in operations or training for the global war on terror. The new aircraft would include five CV-22 special operations force tilt-rotor aircraft, 15 C-130J tactical airlifters, four MC-130 SOF aircraft, and nine T-6 trainers. The money would also buy five additional C-130Js to offset “restriction-prone” C-130Es.
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.