Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Friday the service will start closing down the U-2 depot support capability soon, and that the venerable surveillance aircraft may depart the inventory circa 2015. USAF officials “adjusted” that date to account for the fact that the service has “truncated” its buy of RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40 aircraft from 22 to 11 aircraft, he told reporters at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.