The Pentagon is seeking a new hunter-killer drone similar to the MQ-9A Reaper that can be produced in high numbers at low costs within five years, according to a Defense Innovation Unit notice that comes after the U.S. Reaper fleet suffered dozens of combat losses in the month-and-a-half war against Iran.
NATO allies plan to buy 10 of Saab’s GlobalEye aircraft as the alliance’s next-generation radar plane, snubbing Boeing and its E-7 Wedgetail offering, officials announced on July 7.
President Donald Trump, during the first day of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, said he will consider allowing Turkey to buy American F-35 fighter jets—despite possessing Russian-made air defense systems, which his first administration sanctioned the country for six years ago.
NATO nations will venture to field a multinational satellite constellation aimed at facilitating military operations from communications to surveillance, officials said at the alliance summit taking place in Turkey this week.
The military services remain challenged to deliver key hypersonic weapons to warfighters by their previously projected timelines, according to a new report from the U.S. government’s watchdog organization.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says low availability of unnamed “legacy” aircraft has created hurdles for flight testing of the new AGM-181A Long-Range Standoff nuclear-armed cruise missile. The B-52 is the only platform known to be involved in this effort.
Raytheon and a coalition of North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies signed an agreement to expand the AMRAAM missile program, clearing the way to build components of the advanced air-to-air missile on European soil for the first time.
The evolution of tactics is also becoming an essential battlefield model as the war in Iran and the attacks in the Gulf have drained global supplies of the most advanced Patriot interceptors. Ukrainian soldiers have already deployed to the Gulf to train local troops on cheaper and more effective tactics to intercept drones.
The Trump administration has condemned China’s test launch of an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine in the Pacific Ocean on July 6, calling the incident “of great concern.”
As America’s 250th anniversary celebrations continue, AFA reflects on the legacy and the future of the United States and its Air Force and Space Force.
