The Obama Administration issued a new Statement of Administration Policy Friday as the Senate continued deliberation on the 2010 defense spending bill, admonishing lawmakers to forgo appropriators attempt to continue production on the C-17 airlifter. Unlike with the F-22, the Administration has not said it would veto the bill if it contains funding for C-17s; instead, it repeated the “strongly objects” wording used in its July 28 SAP.
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.