C-130 AMP is Back

A week after telling Congress it had a different “interpretation” of the 2015 defense authorization legislation directing the service to implement the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program, the Air Force seems to be complying. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services...

LRS-B Will Be Fixed-Price

Air Force acquisition chief William LaPlante revealed some of the service’s acquisition plan for the Long-Range Strike Bomber Thursday. At a Senate Armed Services Committee’s airland subcommittee hearing, LaPlante explained that USAF is doing all it can to contain costs...

Official Numbers: Costs Down on F-35

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program will cost $7.5 billion—or half a percent—less than expected in “then-year” dollars, mostly due to lower labor and inflation costs, the Pentagon announced Thursday. In its annual Selected Acquisition Reports, the Pentagon said the...

Fire in the Prop Department

Due to a disastrous fire at the Dowty propeller factory in February, there are only enough propellers available to support C-130J production through November, Air Force acquisition chief William LaPlante told a Senate panel Thursday. In testimony before the Senate...

Russia’s “Provocative” Drills

Russia’s military forces are undertaking massive snap military drills, from its Eastern Military District to the Arctic to the Black Sea, which includes deployments of both Tu-95 strategic bombers as well as the nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 Backfire bombers to Crimea. Iskander...

Smokey the Predator

The Air National Guard is working to standardize procedures for getting MQ-1 Predators to rapidly assist officials during natural disasters, said National Guard Bureau Chief Army Gen. Frank Grass. Using California ANG Predators to spot flare-ups and relay communications during...

The Future of CRAF Sustainability

The military is working with the Government Services Administration to ensure Civil Reserve Air Fleet carriers retain their incentives to stay a part of the CRAF as demands from Afghanistan continue to decline, US Transportation Command boss Gen. Paul Selva...

MALD-J Production Block 8 Awarded

The Air Force awarded Raytheon a contract for 250 Miniature Air Launched Decoy Jammers under a $91.5 million contract option announced on March 18. The contract option covers MALD-J production Block 8, which will be delivered through June 2017, according...

USAF, RAF Conduct Joint CSAR Training

US Air Force and Royal Air Force airmen conducted joint close air support and combat search and rescue training exercises in England, according to a US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa release. The March 5 training event simulated a...

More Afghan U-28s

Afghan special operations forces will get five additional Pilatus PC-12 signals intelligence gathering aircraft under a foreign military sale contract worth up to $9.3 million, the Defense Department announced March 18. The Air Force awarded Sierra Nevada Corp. an initial...