Senior USAF officials say they have a green light to pursue an unmanned, intercontinental strike aircraft that will complement the existing fleet of bombers. The new aircraft will be built in small numbers, but will be fast, and keep the technological juices flowing in industry. There will not be an interim bomber, however. USAF has been considering an FB-22 to serve as a gap-filler while it works to field a new long-range strike platform.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.