After days of worry that mysterious objects shot down while flying over North America over the past week might be Chinese spycraft or even alien airships, the U.S. intelligence community indicated Feb. 14 that they may be “totally benign” commercial or research balloons.
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U.S. warplanes intercepted four Russian aircraft operating near Alaska, the Department of Defense announced Feb. 14. But the U.S. stressed the Russian mission was not unsafe or provocative and the aircraft did not pose a threat.
Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, commander of Air Forces Central, supports the Pentagon’s broad shift in focus toward countering China, but sees a role for his command to help reassure regional allies and enhance the U.S. military capabilities in the region, he said Feb. 13.
The Air Force is pursuing Collaborative Combat Aircraft—uncrewed aircraft that will fly as “wingmen” to crewed fighters—but must ensure they don’t get so overloaded with capability that they become unaffordable, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said. The upcoming fiscal 2024 budget will ...
A month after F-35 fighter deliveries were halted pending an investigation into a Dec. 14 crash, Pratt & Whitney said it has a fix in hand that will allow deliveries to resume by the end of February. The problem had to do with harmonic resonance, ...
U.S. Air Force fighters shot down three separate airborne objects over North America in three days this weekend—one over Alaska, one in Canada, and one above Michigan—but unlike the Chinese balloon that transited the continental U.S. before being shot down by an F-22 off the ...
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall welcomed a top British defense official to the Pentagon on Feb. 8, for discussions on Russia’s war on Ukraine, U.K. moves to bolster its role in the Indo-Pacific, and new aircraft purchases by both the U.S. and Royal air forces. A ...
Some of the most telling information about the Chinese spy balloon was gathered from U-2 flights over the continental U.S.
A pair of U.S. Air Force C-17s arrived in Türkiye on Feb. 8, carrying disaster relief personnel and equipment to help with the recovery from a massive earthquake. U.S. Transportation Command was tapped to transport aid, and within 24 hours of notification, two flights departed, one each ...
