The Air Force is examining how best to support the intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance needs of the bolstered US presence in Afghanistan next year as unveiled by President Obama on Tuesday, Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF’s point man for ISR issues, said Wednesday. But the service has already been surging new platforms and information-gathering capability to the war theater to support the ground troops there, so there will be no radical departure in USAF’s approach, Deptula said during an Air Force Association-sponsored breakfast speech in Arlington, Va. “The Air Force will be part of this plus-up and we are continuing to explore, ‘Okay, how can we deliver more, better, faster?'” Deptula told reporters after his talk. But, he said during his speech, “It’s not like we’ve been waiting around to determine … what is going to be the force-increase option. We’ve been building capability.” Continue
The Air Force is placing Air Combat Command in charge of teaching combat tactics to fighter and remotely-piloted aircraft units, according to a May 12 announcement. Beginning this summer, the service will reassign the formal training units for the F-35, F-16, and MQ-9 from Air Education and Training Command to…