So far, so good, says Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt, Air National Guard boss, when asked about the prospects that the Air Guard will field F-35 strike fighters at the same time as the active duty force and in suitable numbers. “When you look at where we were a year ago and [then] where we are today, I think the Air Force has made great progress and has been very supportive in the concurrent beddown of the F-35,” Wyatt told the Daily Report Tuesday. Much still needs to happen before final basing decisions are rendered. “But right now, I am very satisfied with the progress,” he said. Last year, Wyatt expressed deep concern over the Air Guard’s paltry initial F-35 role. Subsequently, in a seemingly positive development, the Air Force issued the short list of initial 11 F-35 candidate bases with five Guard sites included.
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
