In addition to the F-35 strike fighter, KC-46A tanker, and Long Range Strike Bomber, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh added two programs to round out the Air Force’s top five acquisition priorities. In a press briefing on Sept. 18 at AFA’s Air and Space Conference, Welsh said No. 4 would be a JSTARS replacement and No. 5 would be T-X, a replacement for the T-38 trainer. The T-X “to me, is kind of like the tide: it’s coming,” said Welsh, “and we’ve just got to figure out how fast we can get there from here.” He said he’s not worried that the T-38 will “fall out of the sky tomorrow,” noting that it’s performing well and the modifications done to it “have been very successful.” But the airplane is now better than 50 years old, said Welsh. “As soon as we have the budget space to accelerate that program, we should accelerate it, not slip it,” he said. Nevertheless, “there’re lots of things we think we need that are not going to be” in next fiscal year’s budget, he said.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
