US Air Force names general to oversee major acquisition programs

The U.S. Air Force plans to put an experienced acquisition officer in charge of overseeing many of its most important ― and, in some cases, most troubled ― major programs, and award him a fourth star.

Lt. Gen. Dale White, the service’s military deputy for acquisition, technology and logistics, was nominated Tuesday to be promoted to general. An Air Force spokesperson said that White, if confirmed, will be assigned to be the direct reporting portfolio manager for critical major weapons systems, which will be a newly created position.

In that role, White will report directly to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg “to ensure centralized oversight and accelerated delivery of major defense programs,” the Air Force said in a statement.

Those programs will include the F-47 family of systems, which includes a sixth-generation fighter to be built by Boeing and a fleet of drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft.

White will also oversee the B-21 Raider stealth bomber family of systems, the LGM-35A Sentinel and Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and the VC-25B presidential aircraft, commonly known as Air Force One.

“By directing the execution of critical Air Force programs, this DRPM role will help streamline the acquisition process, enabling faster decision making and expediting the delivery of major systems … ensuring the Air Force remains at the forefront of modernization and readiness,” the Air Force spokesperson said.

The Air Force said this move is part of its acquisition reform efforts “to enhance efficiency, reduce redundancy and accelerate capabilities for our warfighters,” and are meant to support Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s department-wide acquisition reforms.

It also elevates efforts to get back on track the service’s troubled Sentinel and Air Force One programs, which have each brought an unflattering focus to the Air Force’s acquisition efforts.

Boeing has been working on the new Air Force One program for the last decade, and was awarded a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract to convert two 747-8 aircraft into new presidential aircraft. But a series of setbacks has left the VC-25B program well behind schedule. Boeing was originally supposed to deliver the new Air Force Ones last year, but the aircraft now won’t be ready until at least 2027 or perhaps 2029.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Boeing’s Air Force One delays, and earlier this year, accepted a 747 jet from Qatar that the Air Force will convert into a presidential jet. That aircraft is expected to go to Trump’s presidential library after his term ends.

The Air Force confirmed that the work to convert the Qatar 747 into a presidential aircraft will also fall under White’s new portfolio.

Northrop Grumman’s Sentinel, which will replace the nation’s arsenal of about 400 Cold War-era Minuteman III nuclear missiles, is also facing significant future cost overruns that caused the Pentagon to sound an alarm on the program in 2024.

This program was originally expected to cost $77.7 billion. But its projected future costs spiraled, with most of the growth coming from the necessity to build physical infrastructure across the Plains region, and the Pentagon realized it was on track to cost $160 billion.

The cost overruns triggered a critical Nunn-McCurdy breach, and the Pentagon began a major review of Sentinel to look for ways to restructure the program and bring its costs down.

But more problems have continued to emerge. For example, an assessment of the existing Minuteman III silos found they were not in good enough shape to reuse, which will force the Air Force to dig entirely new silos for Sentinel.

And as Sentinel faces delays, the already half-century-old Minuteman III may need to keep operating until 2050, government auditors said in September.

White has served in the Air Force for more than 28 years and has extensive experience with acquisition programs. Before arriving at the Pentagon, he served for four years as a program executive officer for advanced aircraft, including fighters, at the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

He also worked on the B-21 Raider program from 2015 to 2018 as a program director in the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

And when Trump announced Boeing had been selected to build the F-47 in an Oval Office ceremony earlier this year, White stood alongside former Air Force Secretary Gen. David Allvin and Hegseth.

White will have a “small, highly specialized staff” at the Pentagon to assist him, the Air Force said. But the current acquisition workforce supporting those major programs will remain in their present roles.

The Air Force said it will work with the Pentagon and Michael Duffey, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, to create White’s new office “over the next few months.”