Speculators in the F-35 basing game believe a statement by the BRAC commission heralds Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, as a prime candidate for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Under the BRAC plan, USAF will strip the Idaho base of its present complement of 18 F-15s and 18 F-16s. However, the BRAC panel noted that the Air Force is considering the base as a “potential location” for an operational JSF unit and as a “training ground for international squadrons.” That might carry more weight, though, if lawmakers weren’t taking such a dim view of the program—cutting it by $270 million in Fiscal 2006—and Pentagon budget cutters weren’t sharpening their axes. Still, Republican Sen. Larry Craig told the Associated Press news service that Mountain Home has a “bright future” that includes a JSF unit. Is that why he voted for the 2006 cut
The Air Force's highly classified Long-Range Stand Off nuclear cruise missile program is running ahead of schedule and could enter the engineering and manufacturing development phase in May—as much as nine months ahead of schedule, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration said Jan.…