Since July, a special Pentagon panel, led by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, has been gathering data to make recommendations to fix the department’s sagging acquisition oversight practices. According to Pentagon officials, the five-member Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment Project plans to deliver a top-to-bottom review to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld by November.
Air Force senior statesmen explained the reasons they jointly sent a letter to Congress urging restoration of the E-7 Wedgetail and more F-35s to the fiscal 2026 defense budget.