The US Air Force is facing the task of defending the globe with 126 F-22A Raptors, according to Gen. Ronald E. Keys, head of Air Combat Command. Keys told the Newport News Daily Press that the plan to purchase only 183 Raptors will leave “about 126 that are combat capable” at a time. He knows “they won’t be the force they would have been.” Keys acknowledges that to cover the shortage of F-22s, he will have to sustain more 30-year-old F-15s, which over time cost more to maintain. Those weapons dollars get even more precious, because Keys says he needs “some discretionary money” to fund sustainment and improvement priorities for the rest of the fighting force—A-10s, B-1Bs, B-2s, B-52s, and F-16s.
‘Angry Kitten’ EW Pod Tested on Search-and-Rescue HC-130
April 17, 2026
The Air Force recently tested its “Angry Kitten” electronic warfare pod on an HC-130J during Exercise Bamboo Shield, showing the pod can turn the rescue platform into a command-and-control node and protect it from enemy radars.The tests follow what could be the pod’s first use in combat after it was…