Lest 
anyone misunderstand the severe need for new Air Force equipment, Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, said Wednesday that the service is in the midst of the largest recapitalization effort in its history. Larger than post-Vietnam. Larger than what was needed after the Gulf War. And certainly larger than the reconstitution needed after 1999’s Operation Allied Force, which was a big deal at the time. Moseley pointed out during his remarks at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that USAF’s legacy hardware is “significantly less capable” than the state of the art equipment being purchased to replace it, is more expensive to maintain, and requires a larger footprint once it arrives in theater. And don’t forget that old aircraft break more often.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
