The Air Force in Facts and Figures

The Space Force needs a “step function shift” in its budget to fulfill its growing mission profile, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said March 26—an increase that may even approach 20 percent, he suggested.

The Space Force has certified United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket for its most important national security launches—clearing the way for a series of missions this year and giving SpaceX a little competition. 

The Air Force picked Boeing as the NGAD winner based on "best overall value," not necessarily the lowest offered price, the service said.

After 42 years and more than 20,000 pilots, the last U.S. Air Force F-16 at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., took off March 24 en route to its new home with the 16th Weapons Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

The head of the U.S. Transportation doesn’t want to wait to start planning on a new airlifter to replace both the C-5 and C-17 fleets, which serve as the command's "workhorses."

The Air Force is setting up its first five Deployable Combat Wings and seeking Airmen to volunteer for them, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin announced March 25. 

The Air Force doubled its number of warrant officers when the second cohort graduated Warrant Officer Training School on March 13 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

NATO will start a major exercise at the end of the month to practice the ability of allied air forces to operate in a contested environment, officials said March 24.

How would you implement Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s instruction for the Pentagon to find eight percent in budget cuts that can be reallocated to other priorities? Top defense analysts and experts had a wide array of answers during a recent think tank workshop.