The House Armed Services strategic forces panel want to prohibit the Air Force from retiring its high-flying U-2 reconnaissance aircraft indefinitely “unless” the Pentagon certifies that it does not need the U-2 to fill in any of the intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance “gaps identified” in the 2005 QDR. The panel’s 2007 defense budget markup statement was not the first expression of Congressional concern over the U-2 plan. Rep. Curt Weldon, chairman House Armed Services tacair panel, questioned the move in early April, saying he had received indication that combatant commanders had some reservations.
The Air Force is seeking funding to let its pilots fly a little more than 1.1 million hours in fiscal 2027, which would be the most in about four years. But even if Airmen actually do fly all 1.1 million hours, it would still be short of the 1.3 million…