Thanks to the $33 billion efficiency effort that Air Force announced last year, the service has been able to move “critically needed dollars” from support activities into other programs, such as upgrades to the F-15 radars, increased space launch investments, and additional F-35 simulators, said Erin Conaton, undersecretary of the Air Force. Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Tuesday afternoon, Conaton said the Air Force will continue to buy “more efficiently so we can get as much combat capability as possible” for the taxpayers’ dollars. The KC-46 tanker and the new bomber programs are prime examples of requirements that “have been set with an eye toward affordability,” she said. “And, throughout our acquisition programs, we are scrutinizing costs and seeking to improve industrial base stability.”
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…