Air Force Materiel Command’s Arnold Engineering Development Center is running tests on the F118-100 GE engine—the power plant for the Air Force’s B-2 bomber fleet—to ensure the new components of a service life extension program have no detrimental effect on the engine. The engine performance, say officials, should be the same as it has been, but the revamped engines should have improved sustainability and supportability. So far, so good, they say, noting that they met more objectives on the first run than anticipated. They expect to complete 90 hours of run time through the end of March. AEDC ran similar tests on a refurbished U-2 engine, completing tests ahead of schedule.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
