The recent decision not to give executive agency to the Air Force over higher flying unmanned aerial vehicles may actually make it easier for the service to get that status in the future, service chief Gen. Michael Moseley said yesterday afternoon. Moseley told reporters at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that the partnership of the Air Force and Army on Predator-like UAVs probably will yield more aircraft and give the Air Force a big say in the development of a UAV concept of operations. “I’m not unhappy with what’s happened,” Moseley said, adding, “We are … moving in the right direction” in terms of getting a more coherent scheme for joint UAV operations.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.