The Committee Defense Review report (see above), released Wednesday by the House Armed Services Committee, advocates increasing force structure across the board (force structure table) to ensure the US military can continue to wage a long-duration irregular campaign like the war on terror and conduct two simultaneous conventional campaigns. For the Air Force, the CDR recommends adding five air expeditionary forces to the current 10 AEFs. To equip those five new AEFs, the CDR recommends adding 680 airframes in a mix of fighters, bombers, and tactical airlifters, and 169 strategic airlifters and tankers.
The incoming head of the 7th Air Force will face an intense mission while relying on 4th-generation fighters to stave off looming threats from North Korea and China.