The White House has approved the sale of US fighter jets to Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) confirmed to Defense News the Obama Administration approved the deal that reportedly includes up to 72 F-15E Strike Eagles for Qatar, 40 F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets for Kuwait, and an unknown number of F-16s for Bahrain. In July, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency reported the Gulf state sales—including the base deals of 36 F-15s to Qatar for $4 billion and 24 F/A-18E/Fs to Kuwait for $3 billion— had been stalled for over a year. The relevant Congressional committees will now review the sales, which have already been approved by the Pentagon and State Department. (See also: Building Capacity With Partners and Allies.)
CSAF: F-22 Not in USAF’s Long-Term Plan
May 12, 2021
Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. wants to neck down the Air Force's fighter inventory from seven fleets to four, and the F-22 is not on his short list. The extant seven-fleet mix of fighters will need to be reduced to “four, … plus one,” Brown said. The…