New Dawn for Russian Bombers

Lawmakers are growing impatient for an overdue fighter recapitalization study from the Air Force, and members say they'll demand more detailed justifications for future aircraft retirements.

The Defense Department has not fulfilled a Congressional mandate to submit a plan for weaning U.S. military bases in Europe off of Russian energy, which could “be helping to fund the Russian war effort to the tune of a million dollars a week,” according to researchers.

Resilient position, navigation, and timing capability and command, control and communications (C3) battle management for moving target indication will be funded with new authority circumventing the traditional lengthy budget process, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall told Congress April 16.

The F-35 Joint Program Office challenged the Government Accountability Office's most recent report on the fighter, saying it suggests sustainment costs are rising when in fact they are decreasing.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III conducted virtual talks on April 16 with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, Beijing's Minister of National Defense, marking the first direct talks between defense chiefs of the two nations in close to two years.

The Air Force hasn't asked for more than 100 B-21s because it won't get there for at least a decade and something better may be developed first, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee April 16.

Air Force F-16 pilots are testing out new sensors that could help maximize their performance and avoid deadly accidents while flying fast fighter jets under heavy G-forces and stressful conditions.

Two B-1B bombers have deployed to the vicinity of Middle East conflicts, conducting exercises with the Turkish air force and operating from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, the Air Force announced April 15.

Altus Air Force Base, Okla., the heavy mobility aircraft schoolhouse, evacuated many of it C-17s, KC-46s and KC-135s to other bases in the region April 15 ahead of possible tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail.