The Air Force in Facts and Figures

Two Airmen endured -45 degree temperatures during an Arctic survival course in the far north, where national security experts worry the U.S. is underprepared to counter Russia or China.

The Collaborative Combat Aircraft will be operational in the late 2020s, several years before the Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems, Air Force officials told the House Armed Services tactical aviation panel. The CCAs will first be “shooters,” then electronic warfare platforms, then sensors, in that order, they added.

If all goes well, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift off at 7:29 a.m. Pacific time from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on March 30, carrying the first pieces of the Space Force’s planned constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. Two and a half years after the Space Development Agency awarded…

In the wake of a new Pentagon study showing elevated rates of cancer among both military aviators and the ground personnel who support them, advocates and lawmakers have started a fresh push for more study and action on the issue. The study, mandated by the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and…

Top U.S. defense officials dismissed the notion that the U.S. would provide aircraft—manned or unmanned—anytime soon to Ukraine in Congressional hearings March 28 and 29. While Kyiv has repeatedly asked for F-16 fighters and MQ-9 drones, the Biden administration has refrained from providing them and argued the systems would be…

‘Aim High!’ inspired me to excel in the United States Air Force. Now, as a retired Airman, there is a yearning to share my experiences. I have often thought what if some aspects of my story could inspire Airmen, or...

The U.S. will not share key data on its nuclear arsenal with Russia after Moscow refused to do the same with its own strategic forces, Biden administration officials said March 28—yet another blow to the New START agreement. The move marks the first time the Biden administration has responded to…

The Air Force’s study of possible links to elevated rates of cancer among personnel who worked on intercontinental continental ballistic missiles has begun, the commander in charge of the U.S. ICBM fleet confirmed March 28. The initial phase of that study will mine cancer registries for information and compile a…

The Department of Defense needs to collect and track more data, develop better goals and strategies, and monitor the effectiveness of its plans when it comes to recruiting and retaining service members, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released March 28. The report comes as recruiters across the…