Don’t expect a quick resolution to the Pentagon’s internal Long Range Strike discussions, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told the Daily Report. Schwartz said the “debate is still raging” about the specific requirements such an aircraft will have, and he doesn’t expect resolution in the next few weeks. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley reiterated Monday that the aircraft will have roles in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and communications, besides strike. Lt. Gen. Christopher Miller, head of strategic plans and programs, said there are budgetary spaceholders for a LRS aircraft “same as last year,” but it remains budgetarily undefined. “We’re working it hard,” Miller said.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
