It was premature to cut defense spending 15 years ago, said Rep. Curt Weldon Wednesday, adding that the long hiatus in modernizing—which he characterized as “sitting around singing ‘Kumbaya’… because the world was at peace”—has made the current situation almost “unbearable.” Defense spending has “hit a ceiling” because entitlement programs devour 60 percent of the federal tax dollar. He told attendees at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that they have no choice but to do more with less. He enjoined them to help by “cutting costs on the programs you want to buy.”
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.