Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF’s intelligence leader, told reporters at the Pentagon that there were several factors driving the planned reorganization of the Air Force’s intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance apparatus, including a need to eliminate a costly “disjointed approach to ISR.” He wants to prevent recurrences of system incompatibilities such as the one between U-2 and Global Hawk platforms and the Distributed Common Ground System that will take 20 months and $17 million to rectify. Deptula also said that the service needed to position itself to “viably compete for joint and interagency positions.” And, that is why Deptula asked the Air Force Chief of Staff to increase the number of intel general officer spaces, leading the service to reduce the number of general officer billets it will cut as part of its current force drawdown.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.