Connecticut apparently is wary of a Pentagon suggestion that it would locate a unit of the new Joint Cargo Aircraft with the Air National Guard’s 103rd Fighter Wing at Bradley Airport, according to the Associated Press news service. Gov. Jodi Rell and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Friday that they plan to pursue an ongoing legal battle to keep the 103rd FW’s A-10s. They are concerned about timing, since the new aircraft are not yet budgeted and would arrive after 2011 and the unit’s A-10s are slated to depart by 2009.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.