The Air Force might have to field more than 65 remotely piloted aircraft orbits, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz hinted on Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference. In a press conference, Schwartz said, “We’re at 59 orbits today. We’re going to 65, and perhaps higher, as mandated.” Schwartz said there’s “no question” about the Air Force’s commitment to RPA funding, but he warned that intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance doesn’t have a blank check. “There will not be the resources for multiple good ideas,” he said. They will have to be distilled down to “the things we really want to pursue, those things with the highest payoff and, probably, the least development cost.”
NATO Cancels Plan to Buy E-7 Wedgetails
Nov. 13, 2025
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgNATO is abandoning its effort to buy E-7 Wedgetails to replace its...
