Defense Secretary Robert Gates announces that the command billet for US Air Forces in Europe would be reduced from a four-star to a three-star post with the next command change. He announces the same rank reduction for the US Army and Navy components for US European Command.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft will be operational in the late 2020s, several years before the Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems, Air Force officials told the House Armed Services tactical aviation panel. The CCAs will first be “shooters,” then electronic warfare platforms, then sensors, in that order, they added.