US Joint Forces Command is likely to fall victim to the Pentagon’s belt tightening, but that won’t affect the US relationship with NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, which is also based in Norfolk, Va. That according to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who spoke to defense reporters in Washington D.C., Tuesday. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended that President Obama close JFCOM, but “We have no plans to move ACT, and personally I do believe that it makes sense to have a NATO headquarters also in the United States, not only in Europe,” said Rasmussen.
The Air Force is spending heavily on F-22 improvements through the end of the decade, suggesting it may not retire the jet in 2030 as it previously planned. New sensors, fuel tanks, communications, and electronic warfare systems are among the upgrades that comprise the package.