Hunter’s Tack or Let the Truth Be Told: Hunter told Zakheim, “The real essence of what you were saying is, we need to increase the defense budget by a good $10 to $15 to $20 billion in real terms.” That is the approximate amount of the new personnel costs. He went on: “People costs, and particularly the medical costs, are here to stay” if the military is to sustain its high caliber force, considering there is continuing competition with the private sector. The alternatives, Hunter said, are to “keep modernization at 60 percent of what it should be or you increase the budget.”
KC-46’s Refueling Boom Damaged While Refueling F-22s
July 8, 2025
A U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker suffered damage to its boom while refueling F-22 Raptors off the coast of Virginia on July 8, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed, with reported radio communication from the crew indicating the boom “detached.”