Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne left no doubt that he wants to buy more C-17s, but the Congressional restriction on retiring any C-5s is holding the Air Force hostage. He told Senate appropriators last week, “It bothers me greatly to see the C-17 line closed.” Wynne explained that the service has “between 20 and 30 [C-5 airlifters] that may be good candidates for standing down,” instead USAF has been forced into “husbanding the C-5s” with service-life extensions. The Congressional restriction on retiring any of the now 111 C-5s “has made almost certain that we will not get the [C-17] line extension that we’re looking for over the long term.” He said the fact that the nation’s “strategic lift line may go quiet” adds to “our burden of strategic risk.”
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.