President Barack Obama on Thursday signed a short-term continuing resolution that will fund the federal government through Dec. 9, 2016. Congress passed the measure on Wednesday, just in time to avert a government shutdown. Air Force leadership has said it could “manage” through a short-term CR, but cautioned that a long-term continuing resolution would reduce the service’s requested budget by $1.3 billion and, in turn, reduce the number of munitions it can buy and reduce funding for at least 60 acquisition projects. Lawmakers will be able to work on a longer term deal after the November election.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.