The Long Range Strike program, a Quadrennial Defense Review-mandated new bomber-like capability, will slip per the budget to be released today, but “less than 12 months, more than six,” a senior USAF official told reporters Friday on background. He said the change will give the service a little breathing room to help it complete various trade studies to determine just what kind of system—missiles, a bomber, an orbital strike system, or whatever—is best to meet the aggressive timetable. The QDR set a 2018 deadline.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.