Members of the California Congressional delegation are urging the Air Force to keep the U-2 fleet flying to prevent a gap in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability while the Global Hawk fleet is upgraded. In a June 17 letter to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, the group of senators and representatives said the demand for ISR is increasing, and the Air Force’s current plan to retire the U-2 in 2019 will leave combatant commanders without enough ISR aircraft. “We understand that the U-2 fleet has almost 80 percent of its airframe life remaining, making it sustainable well beyond FY2019,” the letter states. “Retirement of the U-2 in the coming years is expected to result in a reduction in high altitude ISR capacity, including the loss of the U-2’s unique intelligence gathering capabilities.” The U-2 fleet is largely flown out of Beale AFB, Calif. The Air Force and Northrop Grumman are supporting a “universal payload adapter” to use U-2 sensors on unmanned Global Hawks.
Concerned about how artificial intelligence might be used to generate target lists or operational plans, lawmakers want to expand limits on autonomous weapons to address mission planning and target selection. The House Armed Services Committee's version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization bill would direct the Pentagon to revise Defense…