Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said current operations are eating away at the money available for future investment. Speaking at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 24, Donley said the ratio of operations and maintenance spending compared to expenditures on research, development, test, and evaluation in Fiscal 2012 was 64 to 34, but in the Fiscal 2013 budget request, it’s 67:33. While that may not seem like a big shift, it represents a swing of about $3.5 billion, from $39.3 billion for RDT&E in Fiscal 2012 to $35.8 for that investment in next fiscal year’s request, according to Donley’s figures.
Planning an Air Show Is Hard. At Andrews, It’s Even Harder
Sept. 17, 2025
Joint Base Andrews opened its flightline this month to thousands of civilians, exposing a normally restricted airbase that regularly hosts the president and foreign dignitaries to a curious public eager to see current and historic military aircraft up close and in action.
