The Associated Press
NATO member Romania inaugurated on Nov. 13 an international training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries and other partners, including Ukraine. The training facility situated at an air base in Fetesti in southeast Romania will aim to increase interoperability between NATO allies, and better position the military alliance “to face the complex challenges” in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region, Romania’s defense ministry said.
The War Zone
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said his service is aiming for its future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones that will fight alongside crewed aircraft to each cost as little as a quarter of the current price of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Kendall offered this and other details about the CCA program during a public event Nov. 13 at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank in Washington, D.C.
Breaking Defense
The first batch of Boeing’s F-15EX Eagle II fighters is running late, but not late enough to trigger a schedule breach if current plans hold, according to an Air Force spokesperson. However, the service also confirmed that the first four lots of jets—about half the total expected buy—will not come with conformal fuel tanks, a decision that would reduce those fighters’ potential ranges and limit their ability to conduct ground attack missions.
DefenseScoop
The Pentagon has determined it is possible to share its coveted portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with users outside of the department, according to a new strategic plan published by the White House. However, additional in-depth analysis is needed to explore how both the Defense Department and private sector can simultaneously access the spectrum without interference.
Air Force Times
The U.S. Air Force conducted its first aerial refueling of fighter aircraft by a commercial tanker on Nov. 6. The commercial refueling of F-16 Fighting Falcons from Osan Air Base in South Korea took place as part of the Commando Sling 23 joint exercise conducted in Singapore. The bilateral training event with the Republic of Singapore Air Force is sponsored by Pacific Air Forces and is intended to improve how the island nation operates with the United States.
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Inside Defense
The Air Force will run three tabletop exercises on the service’s readiness to transition to a wartime posture in an effort to build one of Secretary Frank Kendall's Operational Imperatives into the fiscal year 2026 program objective memorandum. The service disclosed in a request for information released last week that operational and acquisition leads for Kendall’s seventh imperative—readiness of the department to transition to a wartime posture against a peer competitor—are working on an “aggressive timeline”
SpaceNews
“In the wake of the full-scale Russian invasion, global attention has focused on Western military support extended to Ukraine. Much of this recognition centers on the provision of conventional resources, such as ammunition, fighting vehicles, tanks, artillery, air defense systems, and, of course, the famously effective High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). While media narratives fervently discuss escalation fears, indecision on NATO membership, delayed fighter jet deliveries, and ethical dilemmas surrounding cluster munitions, the most indispensable facet of support often goes unnoticed while quietly shaping Ukraine’s battlefield success. We are talking about space-based capabilities and their effects,” writes U.S. Air Force Maj. Kenneth Bell, deputy chair of the Global Security Intelligence Studies (GSIS) Department at National Intelligence University.
Military.com
Veterans’ advocates are pushing to have several blood cancers added to the list of conditions considered to be service-connected under the PACT Act, a move that would make some Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans eligible for expedited health care and benefits.
One More Thing
Military.com
Every U.S. military aviation enthusiast has a favorite aircraft, whether they know it or not. Is it the ever-agile F-16 Fighting Falcon? The aggressively belligerent A-10 Thunderbolt II? The uber-expensive F-35 Lightning II? Or how about the hulking C-130 Hercules, or the workhorse C-17 Globemaster III? You may spend time arguing over the various capabilities of each of these mighty airframes, but there's one thing most people will agree on: No aircraft is more adorable than those that make up the Air Force's patchwork fleet of miniature aircraft.
