The Two Wars of the Air Force

摘要

The conflict in Iraq has largely wound down, but the Air Force continues to battle in two other hot wars. One is the ongoing fight in Afghanistan, and the other is against costs.rnFor the foreseeable future, the demands of those campaigns will limit sharply how much of its aging aircraft and weapons inventory the Air Force can afford to modernize.rnSuch was the forecast delivered by senior Air Force and defense leadersrnat the Air Force Association's annual Air & Space Conference, conducted in mid-September just outside Washington, D.C. These officials provided a snapshot of the evolving Air Force providing essential enabling capabilities to the Afghan war effort, even as the service struggles to hedge its bets and prepare for bigger threats that may one day thrust the Air Force back into the role of lead wartime service.