Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker made clear Thursday that he believes airpower is a big key to future Army effectiveness. The Army Chief of Staff told reporters that the ground force wants to reduce as much as possible its reliance on “organic” firepower because of the difficulty of hauling big guns and heavy artillery shells around the modern battlefield. “Why in the world would we want to continue to build in that direction,” said the Army Chief, “when we have the ability to call on somebody [read, airpower] and put a single round on a target,” especially since “we don’t have to truck it, and it can be accurate?”
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
