Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said on Tuesday he wants Air Force input at the Office of Strategic Land Policy that the land service is setting up with the Marine Corps and US Special Operations Command to think about the future of land warfare in the era of anti access/area denial. Just not yet. “Obviously, we want their thoughts and expertise on what they do,” Odierno told defense reporters in Washington, D.C., on May 7. “The Army can’t do anything without the Air Force. Whether it be lift, whether it be close air support, we are inextricably linked to the Air Force, so they will have people there as we work through this,” he said. Asked if the Air Force has been invited to participate in the discussion so far, however, Odierno said, “Right now, not.” For now, he said, the charter members are trying to think through “the human domain in the dimension of conflict” in the post-Afghanistan era. The terms of reference for the office concentrate on “what we think the land power of the future” is going to be, said Odierno. Asked after his media roundtable if this is simply the Army/Marine/SOCOM counterweight to the Air Force-Navy AirSea Battle approach, he said, “No, it’s not that. I know some people think it is, but it isn’t.”
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.