Retired Adm. Dennis Blair’s move to distance himself from F-22A subcontractor EDO, upon whose board he served, comes too late to stop key lawmakers from calling for a DOD inspector general investigation. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) are pressing for a review into whether Blair’s EDO position might have influenced the F-22 program analysis provided by the Institute for Defense Analyses, which Blair heads. Daggers flew over this issue at last week’s Senate panel hearing into the Air Force’s F-22 multiyear procurement proposal.
A semi-autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone shot down an air-to-air target in a Dec. 8 test supported by the U.S. Air Force, a notable milestone in the development of the loyal wingman-type drones that will join the fleets of the USAF, other American services, and allies and adversaries.
