Air Combat Command chief Gen. Ronald Keys says that new equipment can also create manpower savings. For example, each new F-22 Raptor the command receives probably will replace three F-15 Eagles, creating personnel savings. Further, Keys said Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that the F-22 would be less maintenance intensive, even on a one-for-one basis. Similarly, he expects the new and unmanned MQ-4 Global Hawk to require fewer personnel to support and operate it than does the U-2 spyplane it eventually will replace. ACC needs these efficiencies. Keys noted that “I’m going to lose about 12,600 people,” in the command, “that’s a lot of people”—10 percent of the command.
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.