Arlington, Virginia | March 9, 2023
Lt Gen Joseph T. Guastella, USAF (Ret.), Senior Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, appeared before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence on Thursday. The subcommittee hearing focused on the numerous threats the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses to the United States homeland and what steps must be taken to mitigate the threat to United States homeland equities, especially by addressing our shortfalls in aerospace defense capabilities.
Lt Gen Guastella warned that China’s military capability advancements “radically complicate the operating environment for United States forces and could portend significant combat attrition.” Guastella remarked that the Air Force’s fighter aircraft inventory is too small to meet real-world demand. He noted that “the Air Force needs to be modernized in the numbers necessary to meet the demands of our National Defense Strategy” and recommended leaders prioritize the Air Force’s budget to “aggressively close critical gaps in capacity and capabilities for homeland defense.”
Lt Gen Guastella’s full remarks are available on the Mitchell Institute website.
