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Air Force is undertaking a year-long assessment of technologies that can improve everything from its fighting power to bookkeeping, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Tuesday. In his address to AFA’s Air & Space Conference, he said the “Technology Horizon Study,” to be headed up by Air Force Chief Scientist Werner Dahm, will yield incremental products, but a “solid product” is targeted for completion next July. “These are not pie-in-the-sky things,” Schwartz told reporters, but mature technologies that have not yet been applied to Air Force activities. One example is virtual networks. The technologies are generally those which have progressed so rapidly that USAF leaders may not be aware that they are available for use now, or in the near future. Stay tuned.
The Air Force could conduct an operation like Israel's successful air campaign against Iran's nuclear sites, military leadership and air defenses, but readiness issues would make it risky, airpower experts said. Limited spare parts and training, low mission capable rates and few flying hours would put a drag on USAF's…