The Air Force is out of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System business, per Faykes, who said DOD had “terminated” the USAF portion of the program. Instead, the Air Force is to steer the technology it surfaced toward the Air Force’s next generation strike program. The Air Force has requested approximately $1.2 billion across the future years defense program to fund continued research and development for a long-range strike platform.
The Air Force is requesting about $141 million for initial enlistment bonuses in its fiscal 2026 budget, while Space Force wants $13 million.
