The Air Force’s aging E-3 Sentry fleet is on its last legs. The service has already asked in the 2023 budget to retire half the fleet, and its replacement, the E-7 Wedgetail, has been selected. But now, lawmakers and observers are asking a new question: ...
Air
The Pentagon has put out a call for blended wing body aircraft concepts that could be applied to future military tanker and cargo aircraft as well as commercial aircraft, according to a solicitation posted by the Defense Innovation Unit. The Pentagon wants “concepts of design ...
In a hangar flanked by F-15s and Apache helicopters at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich was sworn in as the new commander of the Ninth Air Force, Air Forces Central, July 21. Grynkewich will be responsible for ...
Boeing has begun installing the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS, on the first two F-15Es at the company’s San Antonio facilities, Boeing announced. “Forty-three F-15Es will receive EPAWSS” under the first low-rate production batch, Boeing said. The EPAWSS “is also the electronic warfare ...
Nominees to lead U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Special Operations Command who testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 21 described the Air Force assets they would need to better fight terrorism and counter influence by China and Russia. Army Lt. Gen. Bryan ...
As the Air Force moves forward with plans to team manned and unmanned systems in the future, the service might be best served by pursuing platforms that can function on their own as uncrewed aircraft—but are still capable of working as “loyal wingmen” to manned ...
Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter sees the need for faster design and development cycles for the service—they just likely won’t happen as quickly as his predecessor pushed for. As part of a panel discussion at Farnborough International Airshow, Hunter laid out his view of ...
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III held his fourth Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting virtually from the Pentagon amid practically a standstill on the Ukraine front lines in the eastern Donbas region. Austin announced a new presidential drawdown transfer of sophisticated rockets but no aircraft ...
The defense contractors vying for the Air Force’s “bridge tanker” program updated the status of their aerial refuelers, citing new capabilities aimed at automating the refueling process. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has repeatedly said the likelihood of a competition for the service’s “bridge tanker” ...
