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.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.