Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works opened a new factory at its Palmdale, Calif., location Aug. 10, where it will likely produce multiple types of secret vehicles simultaneously. The factory exploits new digital technologies and automation that offer flexibility and speed of manufacturing, especially of short-run programs. ...
Munitions
Even as it ramps up production of the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, the Air Force is doing preliminary work on a successor, Air Force armament directorate boss Brig. Gen. Heath A. Collins told reporters this week. Collins also provided an update on ...
Funding for munitions may have taken a hit in the Air Force's 2022 budget request, but Air Force Materiel Command boss Gen. Arnold W. Bunch Jr insists munitions are not serving as the billpayer for other parts of the budget. Bunch said the “pipeline” will ...
The Air Force will try again to make a free flight of its hypersonic missile the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon in July, Gen. Timothy M. Ray, head of Global Strike Command, said June 3 during a virtual Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event. He's ...
The Air Force's fiscal 2022 budget request for munitions cuts deeply into production of staples like the Joint Direct Attack Munition bomb and Hellfire missile. The service, however, promises its stockpiles are adequate and that it needs to invest in new munitions that are better ...
Frank Kendall, nominee to be Air Force Secretary, hinted that it may be time to resurrect the Cold War practice of dual-sourcing munitions to maintain wartime surge capacity. He also warned against any jointly managed acquisition programs and suggested that the Air Force will have ...
The Air Force should pause its major recapitalization of its intercontinental ballistic missile fleet—a move top military officials strongly oppose—as budgets tighten and other nuclear modernization efforts proceed, a key lawmaker said May 17. Rep. John Garamendi (D-California), the chairman of the House Armed Services ...
The Biden administration nominated Frank Kendall III, who advised Biden on national security and military issues during the presidential campaign, to be the 26th Secretary of the Air Force. Kendall is the former Pentagon acquisition, sustainment and logistics czar, who led a multiyear effort at ...
Read about forward base defense, U.S. progress on hypersonic weapons, building coalitions between spacefaring nations, the heroism of Capt. Stephen Phillis, a one-on-one interview with Air National Guard director Gen. Michael A. Loh, and more in the April issue of Air Force Magazine.
