Creaking Core: U.S. Airborne Battle Management Faces a Growing Shortfall
An opinion piece argues the U.S. ABM fleet (E-2/E-3/E-7) is stretched thin by aging airframes, maintenance strain, and heavy demand from operations like Epic Fury. It criticizes budget moves to cancel ABM programs in favor of unproven options and urges funding for new ABM aircraft and updated radars, plus maintenance of pilot/crewmember pipelines, to preserve reliable early warning and battle management for high-threat theaters.