Will the Air Force see 222 C-17s? That’s the number the service has often stated as being the minimum required to fulfill airlift requirements. The currently funded number is 180 C-17s. But Jumper said, “anything beyond 180 is part of the discussion” for both the capabilities study and the QDR. The answer could center on whether the Pentagon does decide to incorporate tankers into the lift-carrying equation.
Fresh off the first combat deployment of its new EA-37B, the Air Force is nearly doubling the planned number of new electronic attack jets and projecting more than $3 billion in spending on the program in the next five years.