Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) questioned Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, about the “duplication” he sees in the Defense Department’s unmanned aerial vehicle arena, keying particularly on the Army desire to buy more than a hundred UAVs that fly at 20,000-25,000 feet. Dorgan said at a March 21 Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing, “We have limited resources for nearly unlimited wants. … It seems to me that the Air Force ought to be the executive agent for medium-level and high-level UAV operations.” Moseley, in fact, recently has made just such a pitch to DOD. Moseley responded to Dorgan, saying that his “desire is to be able to meet requirements, whether they are Army requirements, Marine, Navy, special operations, or other government agency. … Right now, in theater, there are over 1,000 UAVs; a variety of systems, all good, all operated by well-meaning people. But the ability to capitalize on billions of dollars of future investment and to avoid the duplication has been my concern all along.”
For the Air Force and Space Force, an influx of additional resources could be an opportunity to accelerate a massive modernization portfolio and ramp up aircraft and satellite production, defense analysts and former officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
