US Must Make ‘Incremental’ Advances to Maintain Air Superiority - Air Force

Air Superiority 2030 chief Col. Alexus Grynkewich said that the US Air Force should be pursuing incremental advances like the upgrades provided by newer and newer versions of smart phones and continuing to upgrade along the way instead of waiting for a revolutionary jump in technology.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US planners need to shift focus from giant leaps in fighting capabilities to small but continuous upgrades if the United States is to remain the world’s strongest air power, a US Air Force study stated on Friday.

"In the past, the Air Force has pushed for ‘generational’ technological advances equivalent to the transition from flip phones to smartphones," Air Superiority 2030 chief Col. Alexus Grynkewich said in a statement describing the study’s conclusions.

"It should instead be pursuing incremental advances like the upgrades provided by newer and newer versions of smart phones and continuing to upgrade along the way instead of waiting for a revolutionary jump in technology," Grynkewich noted.

The report recommends quick construction of prototypes and experimentation with new technologies as advances become available.

The study recommendations would represent a sea change from the troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which was touted as a revolutionary upgrade, but instead has become a budget buster with a sketchy performance record thus far.

The F-35 jet is expected to cost up to $1.5 trillion over the program’s life span, compared with original cost estimates of about $900 million, and is the most expensive weapons system to date.