Congressional Caucus Out To Save Electric BUFF: 
Someone was paying attention. A coalition of Capitol Hill defenders—the Electronic Warfare Working Group—put out an issue brief late last month bemoaning the fact that USAF now seems ready to kill the B-52 stand-off jammer. (The paper is titled “To B(52 SOJ) or Not To Be.”) Penned by caucus founder, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), the brief argues that not having a “clear alternative” on the table before taking the budget ax to the Electric BUFF will lead to “too few electronic attack assets” for the joint force. Time is running out, Pitts maintains. (Read more on the bomber as jammer here.)
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.