The struggle was most heated over the Air Guard’s fighter forces. Various press reports and public statements point to instances in which the BRAC panel sided with ANG and turned aside the Air Force’s plans. Examples: the Portland, Ore., ANG unit will not lose its F-15 fighters, as the Pentagon proposed, but will keep all of them and remain open; the Fort Smith, Ark., ANG unit wound up with 18 A-10 fighters, rather than none, as DOD proposed; the Great Falls, Mont., Guard unit will have 15 F-16s instead of none; the Duluth, Minn., ANG unit will keep 15 F-16s instead of none.
Concerned about how artificial intelligence might be used to generate target lists or operational plans, lawmakers want to expand limits on autonomous weapons to address mission planning and target selection. The House Armed Services Committee's version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization bill would direct the Pentagon to revise Defense…