Maj. Gen. Stephen Lorenz, a top Air Force budget official, says USAF is in the hole by about $800 million this year—all due to fuel increases. The big gas guzzler is Operation Noble Eagle, the domestic air defense activity now ending its fourth year. Noble Eagle now has a total annual price tag of $1.2 billion—or about $100 million per month.
In an effort to improve connectivity aboard Air Force tanker and mobility aircraft, the Defense Innovation Unit, or DIU, wants a commercial “open system engine” for controlling new applications such as a moving map display that helps aircrew see through the fog of war.
