Hermeus, a venture capital-backed firm building high-speed aircraft, flew its Quarterhorse vehicle for the first time last week at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the company said. Its May 21 flight test brings Hermeus a step closer to its goal of flying the autonomous, reusable vehicle at near-Mach 5 speeds by 2026.
A service member whose body was recovered May 26 from Elephant Butte Lake in New Mexico has been identified as Airman 1st Class Me’lik Etienne, 22, who was assigned to the 351st Special Warfare Training Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base, Air Force officials have announced.
Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a review of the Department of Defense's support of military families who choose to homeschool their children in the U.S. and overseas. In a memo released May 27, Hegseth said the assessment is part of an overall departmental review of educational choices for military families, done in accordance with a Jan. 29 presidential executive order that directed the DoD to consider the use of Pentagon funds to pay for private, religious, or public charter schools for military dependents.
The U.S. Air Force’s nascent attempt to field a low-cost, long-range air-to-air missile is targeting integration on its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), along with fielding on fourth-generation fighters ahead of other fighters.
President Donald Trump May 27 signaled that his patience with Vladimir Putin is running thin, warning the Russian leader that he is “playing with fire” by refusing to engage in serious peace talks about ending the war in Ukraine.
Some European officials worry that America’s commitment to the trans-Atlantic alliance is waning, given Trump’s criticism of it and his stated desire to reduce military engagement abroad, but U.S. military commanders say their posture remains firm.
Navy Fleet Master Chief David Isom, a former member of Navy Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU—commonly referred to as SEAL Team Six—has been selected to serve as the U.S. military’s next top enlisted leader, defense officials announced May 27.
North Korea has criticized the U.S. plan for a futuristic "Golden Dome" missile shield, saying it could "turn outer space into a potential nuclear war field.” The defense system, which President Donald Trump plans to unveil by the end of his term, is aimed at countering "next-generation" aerial threats to the U.S., including ballistic and cruise missiles.
Years after the first Trump administration moved to designate Alabama as the home of a permanent Space Command headquarters, the political tug-of-war for the base continues. Colorado Republicans are urging the president to rethink the decision while Alabama lawmakers insist it will and should move forward.
Work will start this summer on a Pentagon “mega-project” in Alaska intended to boost the Air Force’s training capability to defend North America. The 150,000-square-foot Joint Integrated Test and Training Center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage will contain 426 computer servers kept running by a 15 million megavolt-ampere electric substation. The project is slated to be completed in 2029 at a cost of up to $500 million.
Department of the Air Force Deputy Chief Information Officer Jennifer Orozco will serve as acting CIO while leadership searches for a permanent replacement for the role, an official told DefenseScoop. Orozco has been the deputy CIO since September 2024 following an organizational reshuffle.
Hundreds of full-time Air Force reservists are preparing to join the Space Force this year, while the plan for their part-time colleagues is still in the works. The transfers were directed by a 2024 law, that is phasing out space-focused positions in the reserve, including the entire 310th Space Wing, headquartered at Schriever Space Force Base.
Morale is plummeting inside the Department of Veterans Affairs as tens of thousands of employees prepare for deep staffing cuts, raising alarms among staffers, veterans, and advocates who fear the reductions would severely damage care and benefits for millions of the nation’s former service members. VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins has signaled plans to shrink the agency’s workforce by 15 percent—or about 83,000 employees.
The Russian military has modified its tactics for launching attack drones against Ukraine in order to bypass air defenses, Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said in an interview with RBC Ukraine published May 27.
Rocket Lab, a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch services provider, is expanding deeper into the defense sector with the acquisition of Geost, a supplier of electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensor payloads used in U.S. military satellites.
RAT55, U.S. Air Force Materiel Command’s extremely shy NT-43A/737-200 converted into a grotesquely modified radar cross-section measurement platform just flew across the country for an unknown reason.
