For its part, the Air Force is pursuing a new long-range strike platform, which Michael Wynne, Secretary of the Air Force, said could be manned or unmanned, but he leans toward the latter. “I’m a huge unmanned vehicle proponent,” he said at a Capitol Hill seminar Wednesday. He maintained that the Air Force would continue to make a heavy investment in unmanned vehicles, because they solve a key issue—endurance in the target area. A single-seat manned aircraft can last 11 hours, tops, while a Global Hawk can persist for more than 24 hours.
Back from a Thanksgiving week recess, the push to pass the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act hit another snag Nov. 29, as the Senate voted against ending debate on its version of the bill. At the same time, Congress is staring down a Dec. 3 expiration date for its continuing…