Air Combat Command has done “everything we can” to support higher-ups as they decide upon the characteristics of the Air Force’s next long-range strike platform, ACC chief Gen. William Fraser said Tuesday. ACC’s role has been “working with the combatant commanders to understand what their requirements are,” Fraser told attendees during his Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va. He continued, “Then we have been engaged in a number of meetings and discussions at the Pentagon,” working with various offices to explain those regional commanders’ needs. Fraser declined to predict what will be decided, but said that he has not had an opportunity to make a pitch to Defense Secretary Robert Gates personally. Fraser said he “believes in the need” for a new long-range strike platform.
A dozen and a half Air Force Reservists formally transferred to the Space Force on July 15, becoming the new service’s first 18 part-time Guardians. The move is the culmination of more than two and a half years of work to create a system unlike any other military branch.