Air Force recruits carry practice weapons during basic training, a program that was reinstated this summer.Ava Leone/US Air ForceThe Air Force hopes its recruits will eventually carry real rifles in boot camp, its top enlisted airman said.It recently restarted issuing practice M4 carbines to recruits for their eight-week program.The push toward real weapons comes amid rising concern in the US of potential open conflict with China or Russia.The US Air Force hopes to eventually require its recruits to carry real weapons during basic training, according to its highest-ranking noncommissioned officer.The comment, from Chief Master Sergeant Dave Flosi, came just after the force announced in August that its recruits would receive practice M4 rifles."We really would want to get the real ones, because the threat's real, the environment is dangerous," Flosi said on Tuesday at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference, per Defense News.The Air Force hasn't said when it aims to start issuing actual rifles, but Flosi told the outlet that a live-weapon requirement is a "desired end state" and that the service "is working on taking the next steps down the road."Col.