In the just passed 2007 defense authorization bill, Congress prohibits the Air Force from retiring any U-2 high flying reconnaissance aircraft in 2007 and requires a stringent certification of no need in subsequent years. Lawmakers want the Secretary of Defense to certify that U-2s “no longer contribute to mitigating any gaps” in intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance capabilities as “identified in the Quadrennial Defense Review,” according to a House Armed Services Committee summary.
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.