If a report by Roxana Tiron in The Hill is correct, conferees working the 2008 defense authorization bill have decided the Army shouldn’t be kicked out of the Joint Cargo Aircraft program. Despite House leanings toward a full roles and missions scrub, House conferees cast out a Senate provision that would have given JCA to the Air Force alone. They argued that the roles and missions debate needs more light of day than the Senate provided. Stay tuned.
The Air Force plans to add external weapons pylons on the B-1B bomber, both to increase the number of aircraft that can test hypersonic missiles and expand the Lancer’s loadout as USAF transitions to the B-21 bomber.