The New Gunsmoke

The Chinese spy balloon may have popped, but funding to protect against similar threats is inflating, according to the Department of Defense. The high-attitude surveillance balloon that traversed the U.S. in late January and early February prompted last-minute additions to the Pentagon's budget of around $90 million for measures to…

The U.S. Air Force marked an important first earlier this week when F-22 Raptors deployed to Clark Air Force Base, the first time U.S. fifth-generation fighters have ever deployed to the Philippines, the Air Force said. The F-22 deployment, which took place on March 13 and 14, comes as the…

A group of 15 Guardians became the first all-Space Force flight to graduate from the Department of the Air Force’s Officer Training School on March 10—another milestone as the new service carves out space-specific education for its incoming members. 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced new steps in a multiyear plan to improve mental health and suicide prevention in the military on March 16—issuing a memo outlining 10 steps the Pentagon will take at the recommendation of an independent review committee. However, Austin deferred action on some…

Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin told Air & Space Forces Magazine that top leaders are working the service’s recruiting problems, as ;eaders late last year “put a team together to ensure that we are evaluating all of the things that we do to make sure we’re not…

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall clarified what the service wants from its future fleet of Collaborative Combat Aircraft fleet, saying the service seeks a single type of airframe customizable to the mission with modular elements. He also said the final inventory could be twice as large as the planning figure…

A year after Air Force officials said they had decided to cut their planned fleet of F-15EX Eagle IIs from 144 to 80, the service reversed course—partially—and upped its buy in the 2024 budget to fulfill the homeland defense mission and ensure it reached a goal of 72 new fighters…

Citing the example of Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and his seven Operational Imperatives for the department, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth detailed six areas her service needs to urgently work on during a fireside chat at the annual McAleese conference March 15. 

Years after the Air Force began reimagining what the Advanced Battle Management System would be, Air Force and industry experts made clear at the AFA Warfare Symposium last week that the precise parameters and definition of the ABMS program remain a work in progress.