U.S. Navy Lt. Daniel "Crib" Armenteros, piloting an F-35C Lightning II assigned to Naval Air Station China Lake's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (VX-9), conducts the first live-fire test of an AIM-120 missile released from an operational Joint Strike Fighter. The advanced medium-range air-to-air missile was released from the aircraft's internal weapons storage bay over a controlled sea test range in the Pacific Ocean as part of efforts by the 412th Test Wing and Joint Operational Test Team at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Air Force photo by Christopher Okula.
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Almanac: Weapons & Platforms
June 1, 2020
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Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
A detailed guide to the aircraft, aerial target systems, weapons systems, and satellite systems in USAF and USSF inventory.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
The successful second flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on Nov. 13 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., also included a first for the company—the launcher’s booster stuck its landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org NATO is abandoning its effort to buy E-7 Wedgetails to replace...
A new way of counting the Air Force's fighters gives a better idea of how many are available for action but could undercut how comprehensively they're funded, experts said.
When lawmakers and outside experts turn their attention to how the U.S. military can use of artificial intelligence, they tend to focus on weapons systems—the most consequential and risk-laden use cases—and on generative AI. But behind the scenes, the Air Force is already using machine learning algorithms to help solve…
Multiple B-52 Stratofortresses landed at Morón Air Base, Spain, on Nov. 8 for the Air Force’s first Bomber Task Force rotation of fiscal 2026 in Europe.
The Air Force is projecting relatively limited growth for its main F-35 fleet for the rest of the decade, according to the new fighter roadmap it provided to Congress. That roadmap also calls for the overall fighter fleet to shrink for two more years before starting to grow.
The $4.26 billion Small Business Innovation Research contracting program widely used by the Air Force went into hibernation as the government shut down Oct. 1, but unless lawmakers strike a deal on reforms, the program could reach an abrupt end.
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