The cost of restarting the F-22 production line outweighs the benefits, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle, said Wednesday at ASC16. He noted the F-22 components would need to be upgraded if the line was restarted, an effort that would cost time and money. “If we looked at those costs versus what we wouldn’t be able to do, i.e., keeping up the F-35 line or moving to what is next in a penetrating, counter-air capability …outweighs the time and amount of money you would spend to reopen an F-22 line,” he said. Carlisle said he sees maintaining the buy rate of the F-35s as high as possible as the most important part of the program so the service benefits from the capacity. (Read more about the service’s Air Superiority 2030 study in the Aperture column in the May issue of Air Force Magazine.)
A Defense Department team on the ground in Ukraine has been assessing what the country needs to protect itself from air, naval, electronic, and cyber warfare threats as Russian troops have gathered on multiple fronts, a senior Ukrainian defense official told Air Force Magazine, describing an emphasis on what assistance…