The House Armed Services Committee's top Democrat endorsed a new Pentagon legislative proposal designed to work around Congressional gridlock to field new technologies faster. Spearheaded by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, the DOD is seeking a "rapid response" authority that would allow initial work to ...
Budget
As President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress negotiate just weeks before the U.S. is set to hit its debt ceiling, Pentagon and Air Force leaders offered stark warnings that America defaulting on its debt would “embolden” China, potentially devastate the Defense Department’s budget, and ...
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall insists the service needs to modernize rapidly to face the threat of China. But modernization does not just mean fielding new aircraft, Kendall and other service leaders argue—the Air Force also needs to retire its aging airplanes. “The truth is ...
If Congress agrees with the Air Force’s request to retire 32 Block 20 F-22s as part of its fiscal 2024 budget, the aircraft be used as trainers a while longer, then stored for an undetermined period at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base’s Aerospace Maintenance and ...
The Raytheon AGM-181 Long-Range Standoff missile is on track for a production decision in 2027, having passed its critical design review in March, according to Air Force budget documents.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, thinks there will be continuing bipartisan support for increased munitions procurement and boosting the defense industrial base generally. But that partnership could be challenged by a push to "punish" non-defense spending, he warned.
The most up-to-date version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM will be deployed this year, and the Air Force is pursuing a multiyear procurement strategy for the missile, according to manufacturer Raytheon and Air Force senior leaders and budget documents. The production profile suggests when the secret ...
The Department of Defense is pushing Congress to give it the authority to start new developmental programs before a budget is approved—a change the Pentagon argues would make critical new programs less vulnerable to Washington gridlock. “Time is going by, and all those things that ...
From Norway to Australia, from Guam to United Kingdom, the Air Force wants to invest more money in infrastructure outside the continental U.S. than it has in years, according to budget documents. As part of to its fiscal year 2024 budget request, the Air Force is ...