The US military hasn’t focused enough on electronic warfare in recent years, US Strategic Command nominee Gen. John Hyten said Tuesday. “I look at it in my own service, where the electronic warfare missions in the United States Air Force have not had as significant a priority as many of the other areas as we’ve done, especially the last 15 years of conflict in the Middle East,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his nomination hearing. Hyten, who currently commands Air Force Space Command, pledged to review the Pentagon’s EW capabilities and ability to control the electromagnetic spectrum if he commands STRATCOM. If confirmed by the Senate, Hyten will replace Adm. Cecil Haney, who has been at the helm since 2014. (See also: Leading EW Out of the Wilderness from the June 2016 issue of Air Force Magazine.)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
