Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Tuesday there is “no doubt in the [Defense] Department about the validity” of the combat search and rescue mission, and the Air Force is going to buy new rescue helicopters to recapitalize its worn-out HH-60s. He made his comments during an Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va. Just one week ago, the Air Force issued a request for information, seeking input on suitable platforms for the new effort, which is now dubbed the “personnel recovery recapitalization” aircraft. Schwartz said the new platform would be “much less focused” on new development, as the stillborn CSAR-X was. USAF wants something “readily available” and not an elaborately redesigned machine, he noted, reiterating a theme that the service must settle for the adequate and not engage in “wishful thinking” in new acquisitions.
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.