Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen are scheduled to go before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the morning of Feb. 17 to present the details of the Pentagon’s $553 billion budget request for Fiscal 2012. It’s the first budget hearing that any of the Congressional defense oversight panels have announced so far to receive testimony on the Obama Administration’s Fiscal 2012 budget proposal and corresponding five-year spending plan. The White House has said it will submit the budget to lawmakers during the week of Feb. 14 before the hearings begin.
The Next-Generation Air Dominance Fighter is Air Combat Command’s top priority, because without it, the Air Force can’t provide the control of the air the whole military depends on to operate, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D. Kelly said. He also named a replacement for the E-3 AWACS, new…