If a continuing resolution is absolutely necessary, as some lawmakers have indicated, the Defense Department is urging Congress to make it as short as possible. “The shorter the better,” said Frank Kendall, under?secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, at the ComDef 2015 conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Kendall said DOD needs lawmakers to reach a long-term funding compromise, so the department can make long-term budget decisions with more certainty in the future. While the department will “do the best we can” with whatever Congress and President Obama decide on, a budget decision is preferable over a long-term CR, he said. Congress also should avoid “anomalies”—specific provisions in a CR that would allow the department to move forward on acquisition programs, because more provisions such as these make it easier for Congress to pass continuing resolutions, he said. “We’re trying not to do that, we are trying to get actual bills,” Kendall said.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.