Delays from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect F-35 production, and contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. will take longer than expected to make up jets that were not delivered on time in 2020, said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager for the fighter, on June 10. Lauderdale declined to comment on whether the price of the jets could be held at just under $80 million each for the Air Force's version of the fighter, saying a new production deal is under negotiation and should be closed by the end of September.

Being forced to keep old aircraft is eroding the Air Force's attempts to build up its readiness, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin told the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee. He also said a host of efforts to fill USAF's pilot deficit are under way, including, among others, a fast-track training program for qualified civilian pilots to become USAF pilots and shifting to civilian instructors for simulator training.

The Air Force’s plan to cut 42 A-10s but retain the bulk of its fleet is an acceptable amount of risk and necessary as the military looks ahead to more survivable capabilities, said Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Air Force’s fiscal 2022 budget request calls for cutting the current A-10 fleet from 281 aircraft to 239—the latest attempt to divest the venerable Warthog, which the Department says is aging and not relevant to a future, high-end fight. Milley, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that while he’s “personally a very big fan” of the aircraft, the risk is acceptable as the budget represents only a “modest decrease in the number of A-10s.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee on June 10 advanced the nomination of Frank Kendall to be the next Secretary of the Air Force, setting him up for a floor vote soon. Kendall, who served as the No. 3 in the Pentagon during the Obama administration as the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, was picked for the job in April. During his May 25 nomination hearing, Kendall said he wanted to return to the Pentagon because of his concerns about China’s rapid modernization.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on June 10 would not say whether the U.S. military will still conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan to defend population centers after the retrograde completes this summer, but the Pentagon is pursuing ways to base surveillance and strike aircraft closer to the country. Austin, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, told lawmakers the mission that U.S. troops had in Afghanistan, to prevent attacks on the American homeland, has “been accomplished” and that now the Pentagon’s job is to move people and equipment out of the country. “We continue to provide support to the Afghan security forces as we retrograde,” he said. “Once we have completed our retrograde, that will be very difficult to do because our capabilities will have diminished in country.”

The U.S. military has repeatedly touted the growing importance of the Arctic region, but U.S. Northern Command boss Gen. Glen D. VanHerck told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee that's not really represented in the Defense Department's 2022 budget request.