Military First in Public Confidence

It'll take up to 18 months for Lockheed Martin to deliver the 100 or so F-35s that went directly from production line to storage, awaiting the completion of Tech Refresh 3 testing. Customers haven't complained about the order in which the backlog is being delivered.

PACAF commander Gen. Kevin Schneider wants the new E-7 Wedgetail "sooner rather than later" and plans on leveraging Australia's E-7s and Japanese E-2s for a smooth transition. Schneider also says air domain awareness should be a layered solution, stressing ground-based capabilities.

The proliferation of commercial satellites is changing the character of war, a panel of military experts said at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 18.

The Department of the Air Force will be taking over the Pentagon’s prototype Joint Fires Network, or JFN, as it transitions to a fully fledged program of record, program executive officer for command, control, communications, and battle management Maj. Gen. Luke C.G. Cropsey told reporters Sept. 18. 

The Air Force on Sept. 18 warned that a failure to pass a new budget for the federal government for part or all of fiscal 2025 could degrade military readiness and slow the arrival of critical equipment as Congress ticks toward a shutdown in less than two weeks.

U.S. Air Forces in Europe is testing more uses for drones to extend its Arctic surveillance, emphasizing that while sharing information might be “the easiest and cheapest” option, it’s far from enough, its leader said.

There is no timeline yet on when, if ever, trainees might be expected to bear actual weapons at Basic Military Training, the head of the 37th Training Wing said Sept. 18. But Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David Flosi said he views that as the “desired end state.”

The Air Force and Space Force will have to manage a delicate balance between building readiness and preparing forces as they conduct more realistic, large-scale exercises, senior leaders said Sept. 18 at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

The Space Force is preparing to award billions of dollars in launch contracts by the end of this year—provided Congress passes a budget. By the end of 2024, Space Systems Command wants to award a contract for the next phase of its National Security Space Launch program. It also wants…