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.
House lawmakers are encouraging the Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command to work together as each pursues long-range, long-endurance reconnaissance drones. Both entities are investing in unmanned assets that can slip into highly defended areas, loiter over a particularly valuable target for days at a time, and traverse multiple…