The vice chairman’s remarks reflected the Rumsfeld Pentagon’s well-known antipathy for tactical fighters and enthusiasm for long-range systems, especially if the latter don’t require onboard pilots. A big thrust of the QDR, he said, entails “orienting joint air capabilities to favor increased range and persistence, larger and more flexible payloads for surveillance or strike, and the ability to penetrate and sustain operations in denied areas.” All of those words add up to unmanned combat air systems. This mindset is one reason that the F-22 and F-35 fighters have hit such headwinds in the Pentagon.
The Pentagon is significantly bolstering airpower near Venezuela, dispatching the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to Latin America, it said in an Oct. 24 statement. The announcement came just hours after U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers and other U.S. assets flew near the Venezuelan coast on Oct. 23.
