Asked what he needs in order to deliver future long-range strike, General Keys’ pithy reply—which generated much laughter from the AFA audience—was “money.” The more expansive answer was this: He wants something that is “responsive, persistent, and precise.” To be “responsive,” the system does not have to be a super-fast, hypersonic aircraft, he added. It could be a subsonic but hyper-stealthy platform that orbits over a target area “invisibly” until it gets the order to release a certain type of weapon. That kind of system, said Keys, would be truly responsive because it would be just a “bomb’s time-of-flight away” from inflicting damage. “I think it looks like a B-2 or a B-3,” he said, and, “in my personal view, unmanned.”
Pentagon Relents, Seeks Funds for E-7 Wedgetail
May 12, 2026
The Pentagon has now committed to funding the E-7A Wedgetail in its 2027 budget request after previously zeroing out its spending.