The Air Force has revealed that the service will achieve a years-long goal of producing 1,500 pilots annually, a target that officials say is critical to reduce a shortfall of over 2,000 aviators. But even if the Air Force can keep up that tempo for the foreseeable future, it will be “quite some time” until the service’s pilot shortage is resolved, the Air Force’s top training officer said Sept. 15.
A large swath of veterans has a higher concentration of “forever chemicals” in their blood than non-veterans, according to a new peer-reviewed study published last week. That high concentration is more prevalent in veterans below the age of 40.
Remnants claimed to be photographed in Iran have been identified as belonging to a Raytheon ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoy. The wreckage was reportedly recovered after an Iranian interception that occurred earlier in the day, although the exact location and circumstances remain unconfirmed and there is reason for caution. Iranian state and military media have a long record of presenting unverified or exaggerated claims, especially during periods of conflict, and imagery released through those channels warrants independent scrutiny. Still, the MALD identification appears credible based on the visible wreckage, but its provenance, location, and the circumstances of its loss have not yet been independently established.
Twenty-six days after the Pentagon’s deadline for defense companies to propose faster weapons production, the Defense Department has not publicly disclosed how many companies responded or what production timelines they offered. Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg gave industry leaders until Aug. 26 to submit plans for “significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities,” according to his Aug. 5 memo.
About six months after rolling out a tougher, more combat-centric, entry-level U.S. Air Force training program, leaders of the change say they have one big concern: that follow-on training will let trainees’ new skill sets go to waste. Col. Kellie Courtland, commander of the 37th Training Wing out of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, said the Air Force’s Basic Military Training Next’s evolution, now in version BMT 3.0, is turning fledgling Airmen into strategists by orienting them to the fight earlier on.
President Donald Trump’s push to convert his planned triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery into a military complex has complicated a required federal review process and raised new legal and safety concerns. Trump unveiled his new national security rationale Sept. 20 in a post to Truth Social, saying that the 250-foot arch project—which he has framed for nearly a year as a tourist attraction—will now house drones, snipers, and ammunition. The president said he was making the change at the request of the U.S. military.
General Atomics has given us the first look at its FQ-42 Vengeance Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone flying in formation with crewed fighters. The U.S. Air Force is continuing to expand crewed-uncrewed teaming and other testing of the FQ-42, as well as Anduril’s FQ-44 Fury, as it aims to start fielding both types around the end of the decade.
The mystery revolving around a missing flag on Medicine Bow Peak that honored crash victims of United Air Lines Flight 409 traces a family that also wanted to salute a father who served in the U.S. Air Force.
