The Air Force plans to cut 3,530 active duty billets within US Air Forces in Europe over the next two years, which amounts to about 12 percent of airmen stationed there, reports Stars and Stripes. While the number of people/positions being cut in USAFE is much smaller than the 12,000 coming out of Air Combat Command, the percentage is larger because of the huge difference in the size of the two major commands. Air Force Materiel Command has been told to eliminate about 3,000 military personnel, which represents almost 14 percent of its active duty force, and 720 civilians—both presenting different concerns. All these cuts to people and positions are part of USAF’s push to drop 40,000—a mix of active, reserve, and civilian.
The advanced F-47 sixth-generation fighter remains on track to fly in the next two years, the senior Air Force acquisition officer overseeing the program said Feb. 25, as the service continues on its ambitious schedule to debut the air superiority-focused fighter by 2028—only three years after the contract was awarded…
