Defense in the Polls

A new fast-track approval process for software on Defense Department networks will use AI tools to radically shorten a process that currently takes months or years, Acting Pentagon Chief Information Officer Katie Arrington said April 23.  

Air Mobility Command, responsible for the Air Force’s airlift and tanker fleets, got some refueling help of its own from a commercial provider for the first time earlier this month. The milestone came when a KDC-10 tanker owned by Omega Air Refueling passed fuel onto a C-17 over California on April 10.

A dozen F-16s from Misawa Air Base are joining back-to-back exercises across the Philippines’ vast archipelago, including the northernmost major island less than 200 miles from Taiwan.

When acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth rescinded service-wide “Family Days” last week citing the need to build readiness, he left it up to commanders, directors, and supervisors to decide if they would still permit extra days off. Here’s how Air Force major commands are taking that guidance.

By the end of this decade, the Air Force could begin equipping up to nine bases with self-sufficient nuclear microreactors as part of an effort to unplug from local commercial power grids and satisfy a growing demand for secure, reliable power sources that are more protected from cyberattacks and natural…

The Air Force must better explain Agile Combat Employment concepts, align training standards, and address staff shortages to be ready to implement the strategy, according to a new report by the federally funded RAND Corporation.

Northrop Grumman took a $477 million loss on the B-21 bomber program in the first quarter; executives said the expense will both cover unexpected materials costs and make it possible to accelerate production of the aircraft, if that’s something the Air Force wants to do.

The Air Force has launched yet another new squadron dedicated to electronic warfare as part of its effort to expand expertise in the field. The 23rd Electronic Warfare Squadron stood up at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., home to the service’s sole wing focused on EW, the 350th Spectrum Warfare…

Lockheed Martin won’t protest the award of the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter to Boeing but is instead looking to port the technologies it developed for the program to the F-35 and the F-22.