Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) at the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Feb. 16, pursued the attack. He wanted to know whether Defense Secretary Rumsfeld had weighed his determination that canceling the alternate F-35 engine would provide “minimal risk today” against the impact over the life of the Joint Strike Fighter program. Rumsfeld’s reply: “I was not stating my personal firsthand knowledge. … It was the studies that were made by the senior civilian and military in the department and that was their conclusion.” So, if it doesn’t work out, then no one should blame Rumsfeld. Ahhhh.
If the Air Force is in line for a big budget bump from President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, the head of Air Combat Command said he would make aircraft spare parts his top spending priority—but cautioned that more money to buy parts won’t equal a…
