The man who runs US Special Operations Command, Gen. Bryan Brown, hopes to expand at least one specific Air Force SOF unit—the 120-member 6th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. It provides America’s only foreign aviation defense capability, said Brown. Members of the 6th go abroad and help train militaries to use and maintain all types of aircraft. The USAF unit is not big enough. “[It’s] one of the shortages we find as we work around the world,” said Brown. “I’d like the 6th SOS to grow.”
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.