Jeh Johnson, the Defense Department’s former general counsel, said on Monday he remains a “skeptic” of the need to establish a national security court of federal judges—often dubbed a “drone court”—tasked with approving lethal counterterrorism operations. “The idea of a national security court is worth serious consideration,” said Johnson during a March 18 speech at the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School in New York City. However, “we must be realistic about the degree of added credibility such a court can provide,” he added. The “advisability” of such a court depends on the scope of what it’s asked to do, said Johnson. He highlighted three points to consider when mulling this issue. First, the United States should continue striving for transparency. Second, targeted lethal force is least controversial when the US military carries it out as part of a congressionally authorized armed conflict. Anything else, he said, “looks to the public to lack any boundaries, and lends itself to the suspicion that it is an expedient substitute for criminal justice.” Finally, the President should “institutionalize” his decision-making process, said Johnson. (Johnson’s prepared remarks)
The F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That means advances in one will fuel advances in the other.