Word is that the Administration may find big cuts—like the $32 billion proposed by Acting Defense Undersecretary Gordon England (DR 11/07/05)—to the defense budget hard to come by. If you hearken to a Bloomberg News Service report, it won’t be the Democrats curdling the Administration’s cream, but fellow Republicans. There are those who say we must maintain and even increase defense spending in light of the Global War on Terror. Then there’s the view that we must cut everywhere to help pay for the war and recent hurricanes. We haven’t heard the fat lady sing yet.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.