The new attention put on the ICBM mission is paying dividends in terms of the seasoning of the ICBM cadre, said Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, head of Air Force Global Strike Command. Speaking with reporters in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, Kowalski said the Air Force used to have to press missileers into service; the missileers would then put in for transfer to space operations as soon as they were allowed. Lately, however, “we no longer have to non-volunteer people for the ICBM business,” he noted. In fact, “we’re actually turning them away,” he added. (For more coverage of Kowalski’s roundtable, see Deterrence Will Suffer and New Strategic Stuff and Back to Guam.)
Congress wants new engines in the F-35 fleet, with installs starting in 2027, according to language in the conference version of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The Air Force is to use at least one of the engines developed under the Advanced Engine Transition Program, but the Navy and…