Moseley explained why he thinks today’s Air Force is the most capable force ever: The Air Force essentially has been on a combat footing for 14 years. He counts from the deployment to Southwest Asia for Operation Desert Shield in 1990 through enforcement of the Iraqi no-fly zones and operations in the Balkans to the Global War on Terror. Looking back four years ago at the beginning of operations in Afghanistan, Moseley remarked that out of all the professional military education he had received over the years, not one course envisioned the scenario that played out: Air Force battlefield airmen working with local militia and using laptops to communicate with aircrews to call in precision air strikes. “Nowhere did anyone talk about airmen on horseback,” said Moseley, adding that “there was some very creative thinking” that came out of Operation Enduring Freedom and is continuing today.
Contracts for F-35 airframes in Lot 18 and 19 should be signed in the spring, but an engine deal is still not in hand and could take months longer. The delays don't seem to be driven by anticipation of how the new Trump administration will influence the program.