Undersecretary of the Air Force Lisa Disbrow will be “performing the duties of” the Secretary of the Air Force until a new Secretary is nominated and confirmed, but she will not carry the title “Acting Secretary,” Pentagon officials said Thursday. They could not explain the distinction between the two terms. Moreover former USAF Secretary Deborah Lee James will be “facilitating the transition” to a new Secretary, but it was unclear whether that means she will continue on at the Pentagon past Jan. 20. Neither Air Force public affairs nor Office of Secretary of Defense public affairs could provide an official comment.
The Air Force’s Adaptive Engine Transition Program is demonstrating and maturing key technologies, but it won’t produce the engine that powers the service’s Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, a key acquisition official said. That engine will come from the lesser-known Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program, which is still in its…