The Navy must have an unmanned capability on its carriers soon and must not be afraid to fail as it develops its future aviation capabilities, the service’s director of air warfare said during an AFA Mitchell Institute event in Arlington, Va. The Navy’s new Maritime Accelerated Capabilities Office, announced earlier this year, works in a way similar to the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office and the Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office to quickly develop new assets to address urgent needs more quickly than a regular procurement process, Rear Adm. Michael Manazir said Tuesday. The Navy is looking to create new capability through its use of unmanned aircraft and has transferred its Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike program to a refueling aircraft, which would free up Super Hornets currently tasked with limited refueling. The Navy needs to figure out how to get unmanned capability in a carrier air wing rapidly at the least cost. The current plan is to get unmanned aircraft on carriers in the early 2020s, Manazir said.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.