PGMs Coming Back

The Air Force is “absolutely working to in?crease” stockpiles of precision-guided munitions, which, as the preferred weapons in the anti-ISIS campaign, have been drawn down to very low levels, service acquisition chief Darlene Costello said Thursday. Speaking with reporters at AWS17, she said there are some “anomalies” with the continuing resolution for defense spending, which seems to be accounting-speak for waivers that allow USAF to increase PGM purchases over last year’s levels. Costello called this a “good news story.” USAF will double its buy of Joint Direct Attack Munitions from Boeing, going from 18,000 last year to 36,000 this year; Small Diameter Bomb buys will rise from 3,000 to 5,000; and Hellfire purchases for the Air Force will rise to 650 a month, though Costello didn’t give the current rate of production.

Update: This entry was updated on March 3, 2017, with the correct name of the Air Force’s acquisition chief.