Almanac: Structure, People, and Pay

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. 

The Air Force kicked off a bomber task force deployment to Guam coinciding with a large-scale USAF exercise in the region that is intended to reinforce deterrence against China.

An Iranian ballistic missile struck Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during Iran’s attack on the base June 23, the Pentagon told Air & Space Forces Magazine July 11. Defense officials have touted the success of U.S. and Qatari Patriot anti-missile systems in blunting the missile attack that Iran launched at…

The Air Force permanently transferred F-16 fighter jets from Misawa Air Base in Japan to Osan Air Base in South Korea late last month, the next step in its transition to base F-35s in Japan. The move continues a modernization...

Air Force senior statesmen explained the reasons they jointly sent a letter to Congress urging restoration of the E-7 Wedgetail and more F-35s to the fiscal 2026 defense budget.

Space Training and Readiness Command is “on a good path” to develop a digital environment where Guardians can train together across different locations against realistic threats in the next year or two, according to outgoing commander Maj. Gen. Timothy A. Sejba 

The Air Force is once again tightening its standards for dress and appearance, banning eyelash extensions for female Airmen and setting a minimum height for combat boots. 

U.S. Special Operations Command is once again slowing its purchases of the new OA-1K Skyraider II multipurpose counterinsurgency plane, as the Pentagon pivots its budget to prepare for a high-end conflict following two decades of wars in the Middle East.

Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.