Fighter Pilot 101

The Air Force has tapped sites in Oregon to build its first two new Over-the-Horizon Radars, capable of detecting inbound missile threats from up to 4,000 nautical miles away. The service is hoping to start construction by the end of 2028.

Lockheed Martin has received a $180 million contract modification to convert three production-version jets to flight sciences test aircraft, in order to bolster the F-35 test force and ensure no future delays, the Pentagon announced.

The Space Force spelled out how it plans to fight a war in space in a new document last week, defining and refreshing many terms already familiar to military planners as USSF leaders seek to “normalize” orbital warfare.  

Hundreds, or possibly thousands, of transgender service members have returned to work after two judges ordered preliminary injunctions blocking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ban of transgender service members and recruits. But their long-term future remains uncertain.

As with previous stealth aircraft unveilings, the Air Force’s imagery of the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter has been doctored to keep adversaries guessing about its true shaping and design philosophy.

When acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth rescinded service-wide “Family Days” last week citing the need to build readiness, he left it up to commanders, directors, and supervisors to decide if they would still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.

In the Space Force’s push to increase its consumption of commercial satellite capabilities, satellite communications stands out as the template. The question now is how broadly the Space Force will look to leverage additional SATCOM providers.

The Air and Space Forces Association celebrated the grand opening of its new Operations Center on April 17 with a tribute to its founder, Gen. Jimmy Doolittle—the Doolittle Raiders Memorial Toast. 

The Maryland Air National Guard may be starting to say goodbye to its A-10 “Warthogs,” but it is not slowing down in the meantime, as it recently wrapped up a 11-day “combat readiness” exercise along the East Coast to prepare some of its Airmen for a planned deployment to the…