Gen. Michael Moseley explained today that the real number of personnel that the Air Force will cut over the next five years may be around 57,000, since the service plans to convert some Guard and Reserve positions to full-time-equivalent status. (That means fewer “weekend warriors” or part time reservists.) The Chief also noted that USAF does not plan to make Guard cuts in 2006 or 2007; instead the service will reduce the active force first. All told, he said, about 80 percent of the personnel reductions will come from the active duty force.
A new think tank analysis finds a hypothetical blended-wing body tanker could offer twice as much refueling performance as the KC-46A Pegasus and recommends the Air Force buy scores of them, as the service prepares to evaluate a BWB demonstrator next year and must juggle its future tanker plans with…