The aerospace industry was badly rattled recently by a leaked memo that the Office of Management and Budget wanted the Pentagon to consider postponing a new aerial tanker by five years and killing the 2018 bomber project outright. But that wasn’t all OMB had its eyes on, according to Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute. Speaking yesterday in Washington, D.C., at an event sponsored by AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies (see above), Thompson said the OMB passed on other “suggestions” that signal the White House’s intent to cut defense programs deeply. “What you didn’t hear about,” Thompson claimed, were suggestions to cut the airborne laser, the transformational satellite communications system, further C-130 purchases, and even a new aircraft carrier. And, that was just for Fiscal 2010. In 2011, Thompson asserted, OMB wants the Pentagon to terminate the F-22 and Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet and sharply reduce buys of the F-35. “These are exciting times,” Thompson joked, “like Pearl Harbor was exciting.” Unless China suddenly gets visibly belligerent or terrorist attacks in the US resume, Thompson sees little traction for keeping all these programs in a budget drowning in red ink. “This spells big trouble for US airpower,” he said.
Pentagon Releases Cost of Living, BAH Rates for 2026
Dec. 30, 2025
The Pentagon will pay cost of living allowances to 127,000 service members in the continental U.S. in 2026, an increase of 66,000 members in 2025. Airmen and Guardians across the U.S. will also receive an average increase of 4.2 percent for their Basic Housing Allowance, compared to the 5.4 percent…
