Andrew Hunter
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics
Andrew Philip Hunter earned an undergraduate degree in social studies from Harvard University and a master’s in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University.
For eleven years, he held a variety of staff positions in the U.S. House of Representatives, including as a staffer on appropriations, a legislative assistant on military affairs, and a staffer for the Select Committee on U.S. National Security. He spent the next six years as a professional member of the House Armed Services Committee.
He served four years as a senior executive in the Department of Defense.
President Joe Biden nominated Hunter to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. He was confirmed by the Senate and assumed his position in February 2022.
In the News…
Sometime in early December, the B-21 Raider will roll out of Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale California plant, but how much of the new aircraft will be made visible remains to be seen.
Andrew Hunter, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force and chief acquisitions executive, said that the new bomber will emerge from the factory “the first week of December,” meeting USAF’s forecast to roll out this year. Issues with labor and supply chains have held up many programs.
When asked if the entire aircraft will be revealed at the rollout, Major General Jason Armagost, Global Strike Command’s director of strategic plans, programs, and requirements, told Air & Space Forces Magazine, “probably not.”
“You probably won’t see it from all aspects,” he said. The Air Force does not want China and other potential adversaries to have any more information about the aircraft than is necessary. He declined to say whether features of the airplane will be concealed with tarps, or whether the aircraft will only be visible through a hangar door. A Northrop Grumman spokesperson said, “It will not be a limited reveal,” but as with the B-2, photographs will be restricted from some angles.
As to when the first flight is expected, neither Assistant Secretary Hunter nor Major General Armagost would specify, saying flight testing will be event-driven.
