Army Secretary Pete Geren made no bones about the future of the Joint Cargo Aircraft program Thursday during a morning session with Washington-based defense reporters. “The last tactical mile is an Army mission; it’s not an Air Force mission, and we feel it’s important that we control the decision-making and the assets for that,” Geren emphasized. While Congress currently is wrestling with the program’s future and there’s the matter of the losing bidder protest, Geren noted that he believes the program is sound, but that there are some “fundamental issues” that need to be worked out.
The U.S. Air Force marked an important first earlier this week when F-22 Raptors deployed to Clark Air Force Base, the first time U.S. fifth-generation fighters have ever deployed to the Philippines, the Air Force said. The F-22 deployment, which took place on March 13 and 14, comes as the…