Leadership: August 30, 2002

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The U.S. Air Force has published it's vision of its future and it contains some of the usual stuff. The air force wants to continue developing smart bombs, and new aircraft to carry them. But it's getting a lot of resistance at the Department of Defense when it comes to spending more money on new aircraft. Military procurement has been running at some $60 billion a year lately, and over a quarter of that goes to buying aircraft. The Department of Defense wants more of that money to go for transport aircraft, the air force wants more for new warplanes. The air force also wants more money to build defenses for U.S. satellites, and defense against enemy cruise missiles. The major problem is that there is not enough money available to pay for everything the air force feels is needed, and deciding what gets money and what does not leads to fighting within the Department of Defense as well as the air force itself. Apparently, the current Secretary of Defense is taking action, and cutting and adding to projects despite what the various vested interests in, or outside, the air force think. That means fewer new warplanes and more transports, smart bombs and drones. 

 

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