Inside the Air Force highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Air Force:

1. The Air Force formally shifted the majority of funding for its Air Operations Center Weapon System pathfinder into research and development rather than procurement in the fiscal year 2019 budget request released last week, another sign of how the service plans to approach its agile development and operations initiatives.

Full Story: Air Force shifts AOC pathfinder funding into R&D as upgrades progress

2. The Defense Department's fiscal year 2019 budget request includes funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program's new Follow-On Modernization plan, dubbed Continuous Capability Development and Delivery, but it is unclear whether the projection incorporates a new cost estimate for the effort.

Full Story: Budget request includes funding profile for new F-35 Block 4 strategy

3. The Air Force is delaying a decision about how to proceed with the second Space Fence radar site, excluding funding for the initiative from its fiscal year 2019 budget request.

Full Story: Air Force defers Space Fence Increment 2 decision to future budget