The fourth on-orbit GPS IIF navigation satellite is now operating as part of the Air Force’s GPS constellation, announced Boeing, the satellite’s manufacturer, on Tuesday. Launched into space on May 15, Air Force operators set the spacecraft to healthy status on June 21, states Boeing’s July 9 release. “With each IIF that we add to the network, the Air Force and Boeing give military and civilian users around the world better GPS navigation and timing information,” said Craig Cooning, general manager of the company’s space and intelligence systems. The GPS constellation—including the new IIF spacecraft, which is now designated SVN-66, includes 31 active satellites, according to Boeing. The next GPS IIF spacecraft in the series, the fifth of 12 planned, is slated for launch in October.
The Pentagon awarded a $2.02 billion contract for Lot 17 of F-35 engines to contractor Pratt & Whitney on June 5. Work on the F135 engine is expected to be completed by December 2025.
Cleaning trash off a training range may sound like a dull task—but not if the trash is highly explosive. Airmen with the 775th Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Flight deal with such trash on a regular basis at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR), an area about the size of…
The Air Force is bumping up bonuses in its quest to retain pilots, the service announced June 5. Aviators—including pilots, air battle managers, and combat systems officers—can now receive up to $50,000 annually for agreeing to stay on in fiscal year 2023, a significant increase from the cap of $35,000…
A pair of B-1 bombers flew over the North Sea on June 5, joining in on an expansive aerial exercise taking place in the Nordic region. As part of Arctic Challenge Exercise 2023, the B-1s from Dyess Air Force Base,...
Earlier this spring, the 388th Fighter Wing proved just 12 Airmen can operate an F-35 contingency location, refueling and rearming the fighters at spots across Georgia and South Carolina. The demonstration, part of exercise Agile Flag 23-1, marks yet another proof of concept for the Air Force’s plan to send…
With the Space Force on the precipice of standing up its own European component, the service is studying how it will work within NATO, the continent's primary military framework. To that end, Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, traveled to Germany and…
The Department of the Air Force has selected Patrick Space Force Base, Fla., as the preferred location for Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) headquarters—and hopes to start moving in by fall of next year.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks June 1 at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony—his first visit to USAFA as president. The full text and video of his speech is available here.
Speaking at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony June 1, President Joe Biden urged the 921 graduates in the class of 2023 “to keep us at the forefront of air and space dominance.” To do so, Biden added, the newly-commission Air Force and Space Force officers will have to lead their…