Air Combat Command has done “everything we can” to support higher-ups as they decide upon the characteristics of the Air Force’s next long-range strike platform, ACC chief Gen. William Fraser said Tuesday. ACC’s role has been “working with the combatant commanders to understand what their requirements are,” Fraser told attendees during his Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va. He continued, “Then we have been engaged in a number of meetings and discussions at the Pentagon,” working with various offices to explain those regional commanders’ needs. Fraser declined to predict what will be decided, but said that he has not had an opportunity to make a pitch to Defense Secretary Robert Gates personally. Fraser said he “believes in the need” for a new long-range strike platform.
The first flight of the secretive B-21 bomber has slipped to mid-2022, but the program is moving along well, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director Randall Walden said in an exclusive interview. The second copy of the B-21, which will be used for structural testing, is now on the production…