Orlando, February 18, 2010—In a run-up to the Quadrennial Defense Review, the Air Force and Navy discussed future “air-sea concepts” and will jointly pursue capabilities applicable to both, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said during AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. One will be a standoff missile that will replace the AGM-86 on the B-52 and have “applicability to … sea-based” operations as well, Donley said. However, “discussions” continue with the Navy as to how fast the missile should be, and some of its other characteristics.
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.