A bipartisan group of 18 Senators wants the Senate to include funding in the Fiscal 2010 defense appropriations bill to buy 12 additional C-17s beyond the current program of record, aircraft that the Pentagon has not requested. Led by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), they sent a letter on Aug. 19 to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), respectively, requesting the additional aircraft. The Senate panel is slated to mark up its version of the defense spending measure after Congress returns from its August recess. Continue
With a repeat of a hypersonic missile test coming up in the summer and the potential to speed up production of the B-21 Raider, the Air Force is “committed” to putting hypersonic missiles on its long-range bombers, said Lt. Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, the top USAF acquisition official. Air Force…