The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty will not affect the design of the Air Force’s next-generation long-range strike platform since the treaty is expected to expire before the new aircraft would join the inventory, a senior Air Force general said Tuesday. “The treaty is only a 10-year treaty with a five-year extension,” Maj. Gen. Johnny Weida, the assistant deputy chief of staff for operations, plans, and requirements, told Senate lawmakers Tuesday. “And so,” he continued, “the new bomber will be outside that treaty, so [it] will probably be covered by a different set of circumstances.” Weida also reiterated the message that the Air Force is pursuing the new LRS platform from a family-of-systems perspective. This means it would function as part of “a whole set of capabilities,” including some kind of electronic warfare platform, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance platform, stand-off missile, and conventional prompt global strike capability, he said. (Shackelford-Weida prepared testimony)
Matthew Lohmeier, who was fired from a Space Force squadron command just two years ago, took another step in his unlikely journey to the Department of the Air Force's No. 2 job May 1, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee that his background as an Air Force F-15C pilot…