The Ill-Defined Bomber Mission

The Ill-Defined Bomber Mission: The reason the next-generation bomber got kicked down the road—yet again—is because Defense Secretary Robert Gates "wasn’t comfortable" with how the Air Force was defining the mission and consequently, felt it was premature to establish requirements for the aircraft. So said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz at a Brookings Institution event in Washington on Friday. "It was clear the Secretary was not comfortable … with how we define what attributes this aircraft will have," Schwartz said. He added, "There is no question in my mind that there is a need for long-range strike in our portfolio," but that Gates wants to be further "persuaded" on what the "essential characteristics" of the next bomber should be. He said, "Certainly that’s what we intend to do, here in this upcoming cycle." The characteristics will be some mix of stealth, speed, payload, persistence, and whether the aircraft should be manned or unmanned. Schwartz later conceded to the Daily Report that “maybe we didn’t do our best job” in explaining the mission or requirements to Gates, but he doesn’t think Gates is "sort of predisposed against long-range strike." Schwartz said that Gates wants to know whether the platform fits into what is likely to be the next shooting war. He noted, "And, I don’t think we got it just right."

4/27/2009

On the Record

Mission One
"The health and safety of our pilots—all of our pilots—is our utmost priority. Our operational flight surgeons and our medical staff interact with our pilots on a daily basis."
—Brig. Gen. Daniel Wyman, Air Combat Command command surgeon, speaking to reporters during a teleconference, May 9, 2012. He was emphasizing that the Air Force is doing all it can to ensure the safety of F-22 pilots as service officials continue to home in on the cause of why some Raptor pilots have experienced hypoxia-like symptoms in the cockpit like difficulty concentrating, fatigue, headaches, and nausea.

On the Record

Message to Congress
"If you give us force structure back, give us the money, too. Because the quickest way I know to a hollow force is to give us structure without money. Simple as that. . . . 'Make it work' is not a satisfactory solution."
—Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz articulating his message to lawmakers on the Air Force's Fiscal 2013 budget proposal during a speech at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C., May 1, 2012. The Air Force leadership has proposed reducing force structure and personnel next fiscal year in order to maintain a ready and capable force as the service absorbs significant spending cuts.