Pull Up, Pull Up: Congress must act to prevent the sequestration demanded by the 2011 Budget Control Act, Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley said Monday. In his keynote address to AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Donley said sequestration will inflict an “arbitrary” cut of $55 billion on defense which will have destructive consequences for people as well as programs, hitting hard at the civilian workforce and “our investment portfolio.” The sequestration is avoidable, Donley said; it is “under our control” as a nation to prevent it. Allowing the sequestration to happen is “not a responsible way to achieve deficit reduction,” Donley said. “We need Congress to de-trigger” the sequester, he asserted.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.