The Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., has activated the 461st Flight Test Squadron to support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Test Force. (We missed this Nov. 29 news release.) The unit’s commander, Lt. Col. Ed Cassidy, noted that the JSF team already had “completed the review of 12 test plans … and we’ve seen the first engine run out at Fort Worth, Tex.,” among other accomplishments. His unit will oversee continued facility upgrades and the fighter’s first flight, slated for this month.
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.