Inside the Air Force highlights

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

1. Congressional defense authorizers expect the House to approve a fiscal year 2017 defense policy bill later this week that keeps F-35 Joint Strike Fighter quantities at the levels requested in the president's FY-17 budget and requires the joint program office to determine which of its functions could be performed by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. A Senate vote is scheduled for next week.

Full story: Policy bill holds F-35 quantities at FY-17 levels, retains JPO

2. House and Senate conferees are holding the line on pushing the Air Force to award a fixed-price contract for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System recapitalization effort, but the impending fiscal year 2017 defense policy bill does provide the Pentagon some leeway.

Full story: Authorizers push for new JSTARS AQ strategy and B-21 transparency

3. The conference report to the fiscal year 2017 defense policy bill, released Wednesday, now pushes the deadline for more enlisted airmen to fly remotely piloted aircraft back by one year to 2020 for active-duty units and includes a later goal for the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard.

Full story: Conferees delay RPA pilot transition deadline by one year, edit goal

4. Foreign purchases of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are slated to account for roughly 40 percent of the next two production lots, a sharp increase, drawing orders from a preponderance of the countries cleared to buy the new combat jet, including a first-ever South Korea purchase.

Full story: Foreign F-35 orders surge to 40 percent of total buy in Lot 9 and Lot 10 contracts