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Air Force

Air Force’s Aging Nuclear Cruise Missile Has Become Hard to Maintain, General Says

By Marc Selinger

Tuesday, June 20th, 2017

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Air Force’s Aging Nuclear Cruise Missile Has Become Hard to Maintain, General Says

The ALCM. Photo: Air Force.

The U.S. Air Force’s aging, nuclear-armed, air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) is experiencing “significant reliability challenges,” underscoring the need to develop a replacement, a key general said June 20.All elements of the ALCM vehicle, including the engine, have reliability problems, forcing maintainers and operators to go to great lengths to keep the decades-old missile in service, according to Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the head of U.S. Strategic Command.“If you want to see an ancient weapon system, go look at that…

Congress

Key Defense Committee Members Face Tight Midterm Races, Including HASC GOP’ers In Virginia

As the mid-term elections near with polls showing an increasing likelihood of a switch in majority control in the House and potentially the Senate, three Virginia Republicans on the House […]

‘Theoretical Potential’ to Achieve 1,509 Combat-Coded Fighters by 2035, USAF Says

In the latest U.S. Air Force fighter force structure report submitted to Congress, the service speaks of a “theoretical potential” to achieve a goal of 1,509 combat-coded fighters in the […]

Budget

Hegseth Pushes For Reconciliation With At Least $350 Billion For Defense ‘Regardless’ Of Midterms Outcome

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday the Trump administration plans to continue its push for at least $350 billion in defense funds via the reconciliation process “regardless of what happens […]

Congress

Bipartisan Push in Senate to Hasten Export of 155 mm, GMLRS, HIMARS for Ukraine

A small, bipartisan group of senators is backing the Fast Tracking European Investment in Ukraine’s Defense Act, S. 5175, to hasten the export of allied buys of U.S. munitions for […]