The Air Force is developing a fighter force structure strategy that will resolve how to accommodate various outcomes of the F-35 program, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Tuesday. The Defense Acquisition Board on Monday discussed the preliminary findings of the F-35 technical baseline review from F-35 program manager Vice Adm. David Venlet. The meeting did not produce any final decisions, and the board will meet again to discuss the F-35’s progress and prognosis, Schwartz told defense reporters in Washington, D.C. Hanging in the balance, though, is what the Air Force might have to do to extend the lives of its F-16s; hence the strategy, which Schwartz said “will be provided” to accompany F-35 information, presumably to Congress, along with the Fiscal 2012 budget proposal. Schwartz said while he has “concerns” about the F-35, particularly the delivery schedule, he thinks the F-35A model—the one the Air Force will use—is making good progress, racking up hours and test flights, and showing “software stability.” There have been “no failures or surprises” with the F-35A’s structure, “so that part of the program looks pretty good,” he said.
Promotions to the Space Force’s second highest enlisted grade, senior master sergeant, have surged to the highest level in the young service’s history, bolstering the senior NCO corps as officials plan to aggressively expand the force and especially the enlisted corps.