A bipartisan group of six Senators on March 26 sent a letter to President Obama urging him to preserve the next generation bomber (NGB) in the Fiscal 2010 defense budget. Despite protests to the contrary, there is strong sentiment that the NGB is on the Administration hit list among weapons cuts sure to come in the new budget. The Senators write that terminating the NGB “would do tremendous damage to our nation’s future ability to project power abroad.” They reminded the President that senior Administration officials have agreed the new bomber is “absolutely critical.” The Senators are: John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and David Vitter (R-La.)
Lt. Gen. Stephen L. Davis, the Department of the Air Force’s top internal watchdog, has been nominated to lead Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the service’s bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.