Boeing’s global strike chief Dick Banholzer said the Air Force could conceivably buy some more Boeing-built F-15E fighters. The F-15E is the best of the 4th Generation fighters, but far less capable than the 5th Generation F-22. Even so, said the Boeing official, future force structure studies could recommend acquisition of an additional 50 to 100 Strike Eageles. the Air Force has purchased 236 F-15Es so far. He mentioned that there was briefly interest in using the F-15E as a platform for a standoff jammer, in light of the cold feet toward a possible B-52 SOJ but for the moment “that has all gone quiet.”
House Armed Services Committee members are launching a task force to dig into defense supply chain issues, the panel said March 4. Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) will co-chair the group as it looks at threats to and vulnerabilities in the defense industrial base. Pentagon officials, lawmakers,…