The Air Force disagreed with just one of the 42 recommendations made by the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, saying the elimination of Air Force Reserve Command would not reap the savings outlined by the commission, according to a March 4 release. However, the service is in the process of implementing 25 of the recommendations and developing plans or pilot programs for 16 more, states the release. “No one is more invested in Total Force Integration than the Air Force,” said Lt. Gen. JJ Jackson, Air Force Reserve chief. “Going forward, there is no doubt that our Air Force is going to rely more, not less, on our Reserve and National Guard forces. It is essential to leverage our reserve components more effectively in the current global security environment.” The Air Force already has assumed a 12-?percent risk when it comes to meeting deployment demand and other requirements, and shifting 36,000 Active Duty to the reserve components “would exacerbate this risk to nearly 20 percent,” states the release. Instead of eliminating one of the two reserve components, the Air Force must grow the Active Duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve in order to meet the Active component’s one-to-two deployment-to-dwell and the reserve components one-to-five dwell times, states the release. (NCSAF report; caution, large file)
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.