Four years after the US deployed to Afghanistan to oust the Taliban, the United States is undertaking a nearly $100 million expansion and improvement project at Bagram Air Base—to replace the runway designed for Russian fighters and worn out by the influx of USAF heavy airlifters. The projects includes extending ramps for fighters, adding ammunition storage, and building a six-story control tower. Across CENTCOM’s operational area, the Pentagon plans more than $1.2 billion in projects to sustain operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Air Force still needs more than 300 combat squadrons, but the biggest priority is not number of squadrons but capability, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Sept. 22. He also suggested the records set by the Next Generation Air Dominance prototype likely have more to do…