The NATO Summit at Riga, Latvia, also heralded the announcement that the NATO Response Force is now at full operational capability. “We are there,” stated Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO Secretary General, noting that it “wasn’t easy.” The rotational NRF comprises elements volunteered by Alliance members to meet specific requirements. It includes a brigade-sized land component, naval task force, amphibious task group, surface action group, and an air component that can fly 200 sorties a day.
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.