Space Ghost
“Operations to project power are very successful when you control the high ground. In wars of the past, the high ground was the air. In wars of the future—in wars of today—the high ground is space. You must control space in order to unlock all of those things that we, as a joint force, do better than anyone. What do we do better than anyone? We can project power to the other side of the planet. Sometimes we can show up with an element of surprise and secrecy. … How do you do that? I’m not telling you because I want to do it again.”
—Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, commander of Space Force Combat Forces Command, at AFA’s Warfare Symposium, Feb. 25.
Closing Kill Chains, MQ-9 Proves Its Value
“It turns out that when you have a platform with the persistence and the precision strike that the MQ-9 brings, it can close the kill chain better than most other platforms out there. … The MQ-9 can bring multiple intelligence feeds, not to mention its own intelligence-collection capabilities, both with full-motion video, electronic intelligence, and different kinds of pods it can now carry. It can gather real-time intelligence at the very forward edge of the battlespace and find the dynamic targets, which, as we’ve heard, is CENTCOM’s number one priority.”
—Retired Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, a former F-16 Fighting Falcon and MQ-9 Reaper pilot, and now a fellow at the Mitchell Institute, in an interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Connect to Survive
“I’m most worried about … connectivity for our aircraft. [If] your mobility forces are not connected … I do not have battlespace awareness. I need to train with and be integrated in the joint scheme of maneuver. … I need connectivity so that I know what enemy is coming after me [we are then] able to respond to it. And that would then get into the survivability discussion. And it’s not just for when we’re at risk and at war, it’s to train before we get there.”
—Air Mobility Command’s interim boss Lt. Gen. Rebecca J. Sonkiss on Feb. 24, at AFA’s 2026 Warfare Symposium just weeks before a KC-135 crash killed six Airmen over Iraq, in part due to lack of connectivity.
Cost of War
“Obviously, it takes money to kill bad guys. … So, we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is—everything’s refilled.”
—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Pentagon press briefing March 19 in reference to DOD’s request of $200 billion to pay for the Iran war.
Drone Threats Dwarf IED Threats
“What I can tell you is that the challenge of unmanned systems, the threat posed from unmanned systems, is going to far exceed the threat that we saw from IEDs … where we made some progress, but never really got in front of it.”
—Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, head of Joint Interagency Task Force-401, March 5 on the growing threat posed by drones. The U.S. spent $20 billion trying to defeat IEDs— and the drone challenge is greater.
Awesome Airmen
“They’re surrounded by technology and capabilities, and they’ll do multiple aerial refueling efforts … on the way there and … on the way home. … [They] do the things that we’ve tasked them to do, to put bombs on time, on target with the proper effects. And I know they’re feeling a range of emotions, … fear, of course, but their bigger fear is, ‘Dear God, please don’t let me screw this up,’ the warrior’s prayer that we all have in our souls. … When you go spend just a minute with these incredible young Americans … you cannot come away from that exchange not being hopeful for America’s future. It is simply awesome.”
—Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the bomber crews flying in Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
Can You Hear Me in the Back?
“I am, some could say, loud and annoying when it comes to how we can ensure that we can maintain this fighting force at some of these units that are 100 percent combat veterans to ensure that talent, that experience doesn’t walk out of the door during a normal, planned divestment.”
—Lt. Gen. John P. Healy speaking at AFA’s Warfare Symposium Feb. 26 on the brain drain if units don’t get new planes when old ones are retired.