Chief 
of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said the Air Force is facing toughs decisions in dealing with its share of the anticipated $450 billion cut in defense spending for the Pentagon over the next 10 years. In order to protect its top modernization projects—the F-35 strike fighter “at an appropriate level,” a new bomber platform, and the KC-46A tanker—the Air Force will scale back other programs, Schwartz told This Week in Defense News, a CBS TV news show, in a segment airing on Dec. 11. “We will do less of other things in order to protect those programs,” said Schwartz. He noted that the Air Force is now at the point where further cuts would mean not only less depth in key mission areas, but also less capability. He said the service has not yet factored the effect of the much more severe defense cuts under the 2011 Budget Control Act’s sequestration clause. “We’ve only had a couple months to deal with the $450 billion number,” he said. “Then we’ll go to the next step.”
An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing crashed during a training mission in Michigan on Sept. 17. The fighter's sole pilot ejected and is in stable condition at a local hospital.
