Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, frequent critic of the Air Force’s desire to gain more than 183 F-22 Raptors, on Dec. 2 announced his plan to leave his post at the Pentagon rather than remain on with Defense Secretary Robert Gates under the new Administration. England said he had expected to serve only two to four years, but he wound up still on the job “after almost eight years.” He plans to stay past the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Obama to aid in the transition but gave no firm date.
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.