AFA Almanac

Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM. 

The Space Force’s “Victus” series, aimed at showing the service can respond to new developments in orbit on tactically relevant timelines, gained steam Oct. 4 with the announcement of two new missions in 2026.

Leidos says it is about to begin flight tests of its low-cost Small Cruise Missile, called "Black Arrow." The weapon is being developed in partnership with Air Force Special Operations Command.

Gary Hogg, a former Air Force lieutenant colonel and current test pilot at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., recently eclipsed 10,000 hours flying the C-130, equivalent to about 416 days, spread across a 41-year career.

The new head of Air Mobility Command, Gen. John D. Lamontagne, wants mobility Airmen ready to go to war with what they have right now.

B-52s touch down frequently at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., but the one that landed Sept. 30 looked a little different. Sporting bright orange paint on the cockpit, wing tips, engine nacelles, and tail, the Stratofortress seemed dressed for an early start to hunting season in Louisiana; in fact, the special…

Every time a government agency deploys a new piece of software, someone has to issue an Authority To Operate. It’s a sort of Good Housekeeping seal of approval for secure, reliable software. It can also be a hurdle too high to enable frequent software updates. It doesn’t have to be.

In the race to field the first sixth-generation fighter, the U.S. Navy is pressing ahead as the Air Force pauses its program amid concern that it's too expensive and might not be the best answer to emerging threats.

The Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit is looking for cheap commercial drones to perform a variety of battlefield missions for multiple services, according to a recent solicitation. The DIU wants small business and "nontraditional" contractor involvement in the project, which has a short response time.