There clearly wasn’t enough analysis done to justify Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ decision to truncate the F-22 buy at 187 airframes. That was the consistent comment from speakers at a Center for Strategic and International Studies program on tactical aviation...

Lawmakers who take opposite views on the need for the F-22 Raptor agreed on one thing during Thursday’s Center for Strategic and International Studies program on tactical aviation issues—the decision to limit the buy to 187 aircraft appears devoid of...

Dr. John Hamre, a former Deputy Defense Secretary and now president of a major Washington think tank, does not believe the F-22 debate is over. In fact, he suggests it is only beginning. Hamre commented yesterday on Pentagon Chief Robert Gates' April 6 proposal to cancel the program at 187 fighters. Hamre's take: "We've got an extremely important starting point—the Secretary's recommendations. But, ultimately, it's going to have to be OUR decision," meaning that of the Congress and the public. Hamre, head of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it is "members of Congress who ultimately are going to have to decide this." The former Pentagon official noted that today's cut-weapons effort is the third one that he has experienced during his more than 30 years in Washington. "There is something very unique that happens in these environments," Hamre noted. "The media conclude, 'Finally, somebody in DOD is being honest. ... Finally, they're telling the truth." What is emerging, Hamre warned, is a "landscape" in which "anyone who questions him [Gates] is somehow parochial and self-serving. There isn't a wider interest to be debated. It's got to be a narrow and selfish interest." Hamre charged, "That's wrong." He went on to say that, while he is a "huge admirer" of Gates, the media narrative "is evolving into a 'virtuous Secretary of Defense' who is now being confronted by 'venal politics.'" According to Hamre, "That's NOT what's going on here. What's really going on here is a long-term strategic choice that we have to make—we Americans have to make." (Full transcript of Hamre's remarks.)

A “Marine veteran of Iraq” in an April 21 op-ed in the New York Times called for the dissolution of the Air Force. Paul Kane, who served as a Marine Corps Reserve public affairs specialist, wrote that Defense Secretary Robert...

During Wednesday’s House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing on the future of DOD’s air sovereignty alert (ASA) mission, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) called the fighter gap facing the Air National Guard, which bears the brunt of this mission, “simply unacceptable.”...

Is there a need to purchase new versions of old fighters to provide a “bridging strategy” to address the fighter gap (see above) facing the Air National Guard’s air sovereignty alert mission? That’s the question Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (R-Ariz.) pressed...

According to an April 22 Pentagon release, President Obama will nominate Air Force Lt. Gen. Douglas Fraser for a fourth star and to head US Southern Command. Fraser, a 1975 Air Force Academy graduate and fighter pilot, currently serves as...

The Pentagon Thursday announced that it had formally begun work on the next Quadrennial Defense Review, which is due to Congress in early 2010. According to the announcement, the 2010 QDR will “address emerging challenges and explore ways to improve...

April 21, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 27 22 49 4,352 CAS/Armed Recon 35 76 111 10,872 Airlift 151 151 14,871 Air refueling 43 43 4,898 Total 354 34,993 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...