CLARIFICATION: Lombardi Was Not Responsible For B-21 Contract Decision Richard Lombardi, who was “removed” from his job as the top civilian at Air Force acquisition, was cleared of two of the more serious charges against him, according to a Defense Department Inspector General’s report. The IG substantiated the allegations that Mr. Lombardi didn’t report his wife’s retirement… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: A little Pentagon contract announcement offers the latest indication of the course of the secretive B-21 program. The announcement last Tuesday of a $36 million modification to an existing contract is the key. It’s for a new 45,900 square foot “coatings facility” at Northrop Grumman’s facility at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, CA.… Keep reading →

On January 19, the Air Force struck Libya to halt terrorist activity using B-2 stealth bombers. This was not the first strike against Libya. A mix of U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy fighters conducted strikes 30 years ago against Libya in response to terrorist acts in Europe. A comparison of the two raids illustrates the… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The nation’s spy satellite agency, the NRO, is likely to get closer scrutiny under the presumptive Air Force Secretary, Heather Wilson, a disciplined former National Security Council staffer and member of Congress. I interviewed Wilson a number of times while she was on the Hill and was always impressed with her command of the… Keep reading →

 AFA: For the foreseeable future, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told me today, when push comes to shove, personnel funding should win and modernization must wait. “If you’re asking me if I have to choose between the two, then I vote for people,” she said. “I’m going to protect people.” Of course, the Air… Keep reading →

UPDATED: With Sen. Ayotte’s Comments WASHINGTON: The Air Force doesn’t know enough about the missions that A-10 pilots fly or how it would replace the aircraft after retirement, a congressional watchdog says, putting yet another nail into the service’s attempts to save money and retire the much-loved Warthog. Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate… Keep reading →

Times are hard for the United States Army. It has experienced a budget decline of almost 50 percent in constant dollars since 2008 as a result of the combined effects of the drawdown of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the caps established in the Budget Control Act of 2011. Army force structure is… Keep reading →

CAPITOL HILL: Gen. Robin Rand, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, made it pretty clear he’d like more than the 100 B-21 bombers to which the service is currently committed. He would probably like close to half again that many. Rand told a Mitchell Institute breakfast that the US currently has 156 bombers “in our… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Oops. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James sounded a tad peeved and seemed to pretty much put the kibosh on plans to buy two replacements for the A-10 Close Air Support (CAS) plane. Why? “You just put your finger on it. Where do we get the money,” she told me at a DefenseOne event this… Keep reading →