The Air Force wants to “re-establish itself as a leader in electronic warfare,” said Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle, deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements. Doing so will keep the service’s legacy platforms “viable well into the future,” he told the House Armed Services Committee’s readiness panel last week. To accomplish this goal, the service intends to speed up the procurement of active electronically scanned array radars and “electronic protect software upgrades,” he said. It also plans to add two EC-130H Compass Call aircraft over the next five fiscal years. (Carlisle written statement)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.

