New USAF leadership in place--faces challenges with the budget and Pacific

The new leadership team is in place at US Air Force\nheadquarters. Gen Mark Welsh has officially taken office as the Chief of Staff\nof the USAF as of this past Friday, 10 August. His biggest challenge will be the budget during his time in office, no doubt.

Meanwhile, over in the Pacific, Gen Herbert \"Hawk\" Carlisle\nhas taken command of PACAF as of 3 August. The command is increasing in\nimportance given the renewed US emphasis on the Pacific.  Bombers and fighters like the B-2 and\nF-22 will continue to rotate to bases in the region as the US hopes to reassure\nallies that it will be there to counterbalance the rising influence of China.

In the future, the USAF hopes to build a Long Range Strike-Bomber\nto counter some of the anti-access/area denial capabilities emerging in the\nWestern Pacific. But the service also needs a new stealthier unmanned aircraft\nto replace its fleet of Predators and Reapers in the mid-2020s, Maj Gen James\nPoss, assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance\ntold an audience at AUVSI's North America show last week.

Unfortunately, the service does not have the money to build\nthat replacement aircraft. It will, however, piggyback onto the US Navy's\nUnmanned Carrier Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.

The USN, meanwhile, is putting the final touches onto the key performance parameters for the UCLASS. When there is a RFP issued--relatively soon, there will be multiple contracts awarded with a down select to one in 2016. If all goes well thereafter, the Navy will have a more or less operational aircraft on the decks of its carriers by 2020.Read that story\nhere.

In the meantime, space, cyber and fifth-generation fighters\nwill have to fill that ISR void.

Right now, the 1^st Fighter Wing's 27^th\nFighter Squadron--the service's first F-22 squadron--is in Kadena, Japan. There\nthe unit will operate alongside the 18^th Wing's F-15Cs, tankers and\nAWACS. The 18^th Wing--which has operational control of the\nRaptors--will focus on integrating the stealthy, supercruising Raptors with\ntheir active electronically scanned array (AESA) enhanced Eagle brethren.\nTogether, the fighters will prowl around the region showing the US flag.

The rest of the 1^st FW is deployed to Savannah,\nGeorgia, as Langley's runway is in need of repair.

 In other news, the Boeing CH-47 Chinook will celebrate its\n50^th anniversary in service this week on 16 August.