The Pentagon’s top national security focus will mirror that of President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, with multiple U.S. officials telling Military Times that the department will prioritize protecting the homeland and the Western Hemisphere.
John Shade, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Future Programs at Rolls-Royce North America, sits down with Air & Space Forces Magazine Editor-in-Chief Tobias Naegele to discuss the progress of the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program with F130 engines, the evolution of the AE engine family powering platforms like the C-130J, V-22 Osprey, and MQ-25, and more.
The Air Force is eager to use AI widely but is still struggling with the infrastructure to make it all work, said the service’s top buyer for battle network systems.
Nine months into the second Trump administration, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort to shrink and reshape the Pentagon’s civilian workforce has netted a reduction of more than 60,000 employees, or about 7.6 percent, comfortably reaching the 5- to 8-percent goal he set in March.
Germany will invest €35 billion ($41 billion) in space-related defense projects by 2030, stepping up the country’s technological independence and ability to protect its assets in orbit amid an increasing militarization of outer space, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.
“With the Army kicking off its ‘Army Transformation Initiative’ with big changes, now is the perfect time for an updated version of the Key West Agreement to be hashed out. And among other key issues, such as who controls space assets, a final decision should result in the Army abandoning its push for long-range strike systems, such as the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon, and the vague, undefined in joint doctrine ‘Air Littoral’ concept, which directly encroaches on Air Force functions,” writes Lt. Col. Grant “SWAT” Georgulis.
Air Force Special Operations Command leaders are moving to deploy new technologies and diversify exercise locations—including around the Caribbean—as they seek to drill forces in scenarios and environments similar to those where they may be called on to fight in the future.
U.S. Space Command is planning a second space domain awareness mission with France, after recently completing a similar mission with the United Kingdom, according to a senior Space Force official.
What could be a major leak out of China features by far the clearest pictures yet of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s (SAC) J-XDS, also referred to unofficially as the J-50. This aircraft is a heavy sixth-generation stealth fighter design that features no tails, thrust vectoring, and a very sleek profile.
German defense technology company Helsing has unveiled the CA-1 Europa, a new autonomous Uncrewed Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) designed to serve as a mass-produceable, AI-driven combat jet for European air forces.
