A DOD spokesman said Wednesday that the Air Force did not recommend buying more than 187 F-22 aircraft in budget deliberations that concluded with the program announcements Monday by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Geoff Morrell, Gates’ top spokesman, told the Daily Report that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley are “completely on board” with the F-22 decision, and that they think 187 is “the right number.” The Air Force has declined to comment on advice it provided to Gates about the F-22. Read Executive Editor John Tirpak’s conversation with Mr. Morrell, posted online Wednesday morning.
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.