Michael Wynne, the Air Force’s top civilian, said the Air Force is now mostly reactive in its posture in Iraq, having shifted away from “scheduled air operations to on-call air operations.” However, he noted that US ground forces now expect fast-reaction close air support. Wynne said that the Army has gotten so accustomed to having CAS on demand that if it takes 10 minutes “they think their radios don’t work.”
While the Pentagon has signaled its intent to scale technology, field new systems faster, and work more with nontraditional vendors, a new report identifies persistent manufacturing capacity, resourcing, workforce, and modernization challenges that could hinder its ability to deliver on those goals.