According to defense analyst Jeremiah Gertler, now with the Aerospace Industries Association, the Air Force isn’t just communicating its priorities poorly, it doesn’t put its money where its mouth is. He told a Heritage Foundation seminar this week that the service claims the KC-X tanker is a major procurement priority, but the budget documents don’t “necessarily” support that claim. Gertler also argues that if USAF wins its bid to become executive agent for higher flying unmanned aerial vehicles, the service must establish clear budget priorities verbally as well as on paper. “The two are often at odds,” he said.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
