Air Force got a new leader, a new fighter plan and can ditch old planes: 2021 In Review -...

In 2021, the Air Force put a lot of balls in motion — we saw new leaders come into office and heard hints about some exciting new aircraft programs. But a lot of the major decisions won’t be finalized until next year. I’ll be waiting to see if the Air Force can juggle all its plans with the flat budget undoubtedly coming down the line in fiscal 2023, but here’s a refresher on the biggest news stories in 2021:
Frank Kendall Brought New Direction To Top Job

In April, the Biden administration announced its nomination of Frank Kendall to become the new secretary of the Air Force. Kendall, a former Pentagon acquisition head with the knowledge to dive deep into the bureaucratic weeds of the department, made it clear his goal was to field tech to counter the rising threat of China.
The F-35 was developed to replace a long list of aircraft — chief among them the Air Force’s multirole F-16 fighters, which number more than a thousand planes. But in February, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown acknowledged that the service is exploring other options.

A tactical aircraft study carried out this year would help formulate FY23 budget plans and solidify the Air Force’s make up of its future fighter fleet, Brown said then. Most notably, Brown mentioned the service was considering a low-cost, clean-sheet “fourth-gen plus” fighter to replace a portion of the F-16 fleet. It was an admission that the service’s long professed program of record of 1,763 F-35As may be cut in the coming years.