Air Force Wants to Kill E-7 Wedgetail Buy
The Air Force plans to cancel its program to purchase a fleet of E-7 Wedgetail airborne target-tracking jets as part of the fiscal 2026 budget, a senior defense official confirmed June 26.
How the 2026 Budget Shapes the Future Air Force Fighter Fleet: What’s In, What’s Out
The Air Force's fiscal 2026 combat aircraft budget request goes big on the new F-47 and B-21, but only buys 45 new fighters, less than half its traditional goal. The service said it can only buy what industry can make, and the desired 72 fighters is "not...achievable."
‘15 Years of Incredible Work’: The Inside Story of the Mission to Bomb Iran’s Nuclear Sites
The 36-hour operation by the U.S. military to fly deep into Iranian airspace and use Air Force B-2s to drop massive bunker buster bombs on a heavily fortified Iranian nuclear complex traces its roots to the work of intelligence analysts over 15 years ago.
Space Force Spending Could Hit $40B in 2026
Buoyed mostly by extra funds earmarked for Golden Dome in the reconciliation bill being considered by Congress, the Space Force says its 2026 budget request is roughly $40 billion—an increase of more than 30 percent over 2025. Among the services, the Space Force is getting the largest proportion of its 2026 budget from the reconciliation bill, at more than a third.
Radar Sweep
A US Base in Saudi Arabia Expands to Help Counter Iran
The New York Times
Long before last week’s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and Iran’s retaliatory missile attack, the faint outline of a new American base appeared roughly 20 miles inland from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
B-2 Used as Decoy for Iran Strike Mission Is Stuck in Hawaii
The War Zone
One of the B-2 Spirits that was used as a feint, heading west over the Pacific with an armada of tankers strung along the way, while the real strike force headed east over the Atlantic to hit Iran, had to divert in Hawaii and is still there. Emergency diversions of this kind into Honolulu seem to be an increasingly common occurrence for the notoriously complex, maintenance-intensive, and aging B-2 stealth bomber force.
Billions for New Uncrewed Systems and Drone-Killing Tech Included in Pentagon’s 2026 Budget Plan
DefenseScoop
The Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal 2026 prioritizes major near-term investments in a wide variety of uncrewed systems and counter-drone capabilities, senior defense and military officials told reporters.
Satellite Imagery Firms Escalate Warnings over Budget Cuts
SpaceNews
U.S. satellite imagery providers are intensifying their warnings over proposed cuts to the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) commercial imagery budget, arguing that the reductions—now moving closer to congressional review—pose growing risks to national security and the domestic space industry’s viability.
Space Force Ponders Shakeup to LEO Satellite Strategy, Potentially Hiring SpaceX for Data Relay
Breaking Defense
Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman confirmed that the service is reconsidering the future of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) multi-billion-dollar Transport Layer, a network of data relay satellites to rapidly transmit targeting data from U.S. military sensors to shooters.
Air Force Academy Cadets Arrive for Basic Training, Encouraged to Cultivate Intensity and Courage
The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
More than 1,000 cadets flowed up the stairs at the Holaday Athletic Center at the Air Force Academy on June 25 to start chasing their dreams of flying planes, working in space, and serving their country. They were greeted with excited cheers by mostly athletic department staff before starting the more serious portions of the day, such as taking their oath to defend the U.S. Constitution.
Military Doctors Say They’re Not Getting Enough Hands-On Experience for Combat Care
Task & Purpose
Military doctors and nurses are not getting enough hands-on patient care, leaving them ill-prepared to care for troops in combat and causing them to separate from service altogether, according to a federal watchdog.
Nuclear-Armed Air Force Base Is Under Siege ... by Squirrels
San Antonio Express-News
Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, home to nuclear-armed bombers and nuclear-tipped intercontinental missiles, is struggling to repel an invasion ... by ground squirrels.