The Air Force in Fiscal 2008 put some 25 Air Battle Managers who serve on E-3 AWACS command and control aircraft into the field as Air Liaison Officers and plans to increase that number by 50 percent in 2009. The use of ABMs as ALOs where they serve with Army units to direct airpower from the ground, has grown from a handful when ABMs first received their aeronautical rating in 1999. Lt. Col. Craig MacLeod, deputy commander of training with the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker AFB, Okla., believes ALO duty is “a perfect second assignment for an ABM” and called it a “growth industry.” (552nd ACW report by 1st Lt. Eric Miller)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
