The Air Force’s F-22 fighter, C-17 airlifter and C-130J transport all got a thumbs up July 20 from the Senate Appropriations Committee. In approving a $453.5 billion fiscal 2007 defense budget, the panel fully funded 20 Raptors, 12 C-17s, and 8 C-130Js. Other USAF aircraft programs weren’t so lucky. The powerful appropriators delayed F-35 fighter production one year “to permit additional testing and design maturity,” according to a release. It deferred new spending for a KC-135 tanker replacement program and put off procurement of the Air Force-Army Joint Cargo Aircraft, waiting for the two services to “fully define requirements and complete a joint concept of operations.” The bill must pass the full Senate and survive later negotiations with the House.
Air Force to Reduce Tuition Assistance for Troops
Sept. 29, 2020
Starting Oct. 1, the Department of the Air Force will only pay for $3,700 of college tuition for Airmen and space professionals each fiscal year, regardless of whether they’re engaged in undergraduate or graduate studies, according to a Sept. 29 release. That's a decrease of $800 per-fiscal-year from 2020 tuition…