Terror threat facing U.S. to continue

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A top U.S. Air Force commander says he expects the terrorist threat facing the United States to continue for many years to come.

Speaking a the Air Force Association's annual Air Warfare Symposium in Florida, Gen. Victor Renuart, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., says the U.S. Air Force faces growing challenges not only to the aging infrastructure but also with the evolving war on terrorism.

"We are part of a team that supports federal agencies to make sure your families are protected," Renuart said in a statement. "Some countries are developing and moving rapidly toward a fifth-generation capability, whether it's surface-to-air defense or air-to-air capability in their fighters. Do we know if they will be enemies or friends? The future is uncertain. But can we afford to lag behind them and wait and see? I think not.

"The terrorist threats we see today are the same threats we will see for some time in the future. If we don't anticipate where the next threat may come from, and if we don't begin to pull together air and space power and cyber capability, we're not doing our job to protect the American people."

Officials say the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are putting a strain on the Air Force but that maintaining dominance in the skies is crucial for future security.

"Our ability to provide global vigilance, reach and power is predicated on the continued ability to own the skies," said Gen. Corley, commander of Air Combat Command. "Our ability to achieve air dominance depends on overmatch in both capability and capacity. We must possess and maintain overmatch, and today that's becoming increasingly at risk."