Starting today, the Air Force is realigning its headquarters staff into what it terms the “A-staff” construct to more easily communicate with sister services and the joint staff. Brig. Gen. Marshall Sabol, USAF’s director of manpower and organization, told reporters at the Pentagon on Jan. 31, that USAF functions will mirror the numerical organization of the Joint staff, that is J1 for manpower and personnel, J2 for intelligence, J3 for operations. Only the Air Force will replace the “J” with an “A.” Air Force major commands and warfighting headquarters will implement the new structure by May 1.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.