Newly minted Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Arthur Lichte said Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in Washington that he hopes “within 60 days” to have final data from the Army and Marine Corps about how those two services plan to add a combined 92,000 troops over the next few years. The information will help AMC be precise in determining how many additional airlifters it will need to move the expanded ground force. Lichte said he’s also waiting on data about the Army’s Future Combat System vehicles, which need airlift for rapid deployability. That info, too, will drive strategic mobility requirements.
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…