Sydney Freedberg writes in the National Journal of the age-old fighter mafia vs. the bomber crowd debate, questioning whether the Air Force really wants to pursue a new bomber. He draws on a study defense analyst Rebecca Grant did for the Air Force Association earlier this year, titled “Return of the Bomber,” but he leans most heavily on defense analysts who question the “seriousness” of the Air Force’s commitment to a new bomber. Of course, admits Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, funding for the bomber, which has a 2018 due date set by the Quadrennial Defense Review, is classified. He tells Freedberg, “Either it’s a totally black program, or it’s just talk.”
The Royal International Air Tattoo, one of the world’s biggest annual air shows, will permanently move from its longtime home of RAF Fairford, a longtime base for the U.S. Air Force, to a different military installation in the United Kingdom, its organizers announced Nov. 4.