JUNE 27, 2025 – The highest-ranking civilian and military leaders of the Department of the Air Force June 26 highlighted the recent U.S. strike on Iran as a vivid example for what is possible – but also at risk – unless Congress ensures sufficient, uninterrupted funding for the Air Force and Space Force.
“We don’t just need more Air Force; we need a more capable one,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin, told the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in a hearing that also featured Department of the Air Force Secretary Dr. Troy Meink, and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman.
“As the world saw on June 21st, no other service can match what the Air Force delivers: effects anywhere on the globe, at any scale, on minimal notice,” Allvin said, emphasizing a theme that was embraced and expanded on by Meink and Saltzman.
But while the Iran mission was successful, all three leaders noted that adversaries today, particularly China, are more advanced and determined and that the U.S. advantage could shrink without assured, consistent funding from Congress.
That is especially true in space, Saltzman said, adding that being able to operate fully in space is a linchpin to defending the nation and that the domain has now become a contested, warfighting zone.
“It is imperative that we match the dramatic rise in threats and increasing importance of space with resources to arm the Space Force effectively,” Saltzman told members of the subcommittee that plays a key role in determine how much funding the department will receive when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
“The Space Force has been asked to accept new responsibilities and new missions. These new missions require new resources, or we will face tough choices between delayed readiness, reduced capacity, or unaddressed vulnerabilities,” he said.
Meink seized on a similar theme.
“The Department of the Air Force is at an inflection point. We are engaged in a fast-paced race for military superiority against a well-resourced strategic opponent,” he said.
“However, we simultaneously face personnel and platform challenges affecting our immediate readiness. We must rebuild our military and develop new capabilities so that we can continue deterring our adversaries in the future.”
Like Allvin, Meink linked the success of the mission against Iran as an indicator of the capabilities brought by the Air Force and Space Force and as a tangible example of the department’s spending priorities and what it means in real terms on the battlefield.
“Through our current and future investments, the department aims to establish a balanced, high-low mix of combat capabilities optimized to project power both from within and outside of adversary threat environments,” he said.
“We recently demonstrated the precision and potency of U.S. air and space force in Operation Midnight Hammer, and it is imperative that we continue providing the president a full range of military options to confront any threat we face,” he told senators.
Meink noted that confronting and deterring China remains the highest national defense priority. That effort, along with protecting the homeland including the Southern Border, means “continuing to modernize our nuclear forces, especially through the Sentinel, B-21, and Long-Range Standoff weapon programs — as well as the nuclear Command, Control, and Communications that support these systems. We are also eager to support the president’s ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense initiative.”
Allvin told senators the budget request for 2026 “is designed to build a force aligned with today’s operational realities. That means preserving current readiness and optimizing our force design to be tailored for contested environments, blending next generation aircraft, autonomous systems, and resilient command and control.”
Specifically, it means continuing to develop the F-47, the recently announced newest frontline fighter. It means continuing to develop and refine so-called Collaborative Combat Aircraft, uncrewed and autonomous aircraft that would work in unison with crewed aircraft and commands on the ground. It means pushing forward the B-21 bomber and continuing to upgrade the ageless B-52 fleet and the ground-based nuclear deterrent known as Sentinel.
At the same time, Allvin said the Air Force needs Congress to give it authority to trim unneeded and unused assets and property.
“More Air Force means ruthlessly prioritizing in the right capabilities and projects while divesting from aging systems and unused infrastructure,” Allvin said, reiterating a call for “more Air Force” that he has been voicing for months.
“We don’t just need more Air Force; we need a more capable one. We need ‘more tooth, less tail’,” he said, emphasizing the Air Force currently has “23% in excess facilities.”
“This inefficient laydown of force structure across our installations suggests there are opportunities for consolidation or divestment,” he said.
Lawmakers agreed with the three leaders that Congress needs to approve the fiscal 2026 spending plan and that failing to achieve that, as has happened frequently over the last decade, erodes national security.
Aside from agreement on the need for funding, the hearing also brought questions about the status of the KC-46 tanker, about the Air Force’s plans for responding to a shortage of workers at childcare centers, plans for launching satellites and what the Air Force is doing to protect bases from drone attacks, among others.
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs