: The Air Force has asked the Pentagon’s independent cost estimators to determine what the RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted reconnaissance aircraft should really cost, says David Van Buren, the service’s acquisition executive. Speaking to reporters in the Pentagon June 18, Van Buren said he expects this “should-cost” analysis to be completed in August or September. He said this review was prompted by the Air Force’s dissatisfaction with the state of the Global Hawk program (see USAF Voices Global Hawk Frustrations from Monday’s Daily Report column). For example, the Air Force believes turnaround times for repairs take far too long.
With upgrades, F-16s can serve as a numbers-builder in the combat air forces until the 2040s, and it’s not necessary to launch its successor yet, program officials said at an industry conference. “We anticipate hundreds of F-16s in active service for decades to come,” meaning into the 2040s, Col. Tim…