Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said his biggest challenge for the balance of his tenure will be managing all the new missions the service must take on with a fixed number of people. Remotely Piloted Aircraft are a key example: USAF is bringing on the uninhabited craft at a brisk rate, but he declared: “We need 140 folks per platform to launch and operate them. … We cannot sustain this package indefinitely.” He said the service would seek greater automation in all phases of RPA operations so that far fewer people can operate the same or more aircraft.
Due to the prolonged delay in deliveries of the Tech Refresh 3 version of the F-35 fighter, Denmark is pulling six of its TR-2-configured F-35 jets stationed in the U.S. back to home base in order to consolidate aircraft and get better training for its pilots and maintainers, the Danish…