Air Force Releases Results from Inspections of M18 Pistols

By Matthew Cox
The Air Force has ruled the M18 service pistol is “safe and reliable” after inspecting more than 100,000 of the service’s 9mm pistols, according to a Sept. 2 announcement. Leaders ordered a force-wide inspection after a July 20, 2025, discharge of an M18 killed an on-duty security forces Airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.

What Each F-35 Variant Really Costs Right Now

By Stephen Losey
The base cost of an F-35A, the Air Force variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, is going up 11.5 percent from $82.5 million to $92 million for the latest lots of the fifth-generation aircraft, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed.

Radar Sweep

UK Government Commits to Boom Refueling for RAF Tankers

The War Zone

The United Kingdom is moving toward adding a flying-boom aerial refueling capability to the Royal Air Force, a requirement being driven in large part by the future Tempest combat jet, being developed under the Global Combat Air Program initiative.

OPINION: To Counter China, America’s Next CCA Needs a Different Mission

Breaking Defense

“To safeguard its high-value airborne assets, the Air Force can acquire more fighters, develop new HVAA, or use space-based sensing. Or it can, and should, make protection of HVAA the primary mission of the second increment of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program,” writes Greg Malandrino, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and a retired fighter pilot with over 25 years of naval service.

Air Force Uses C-130Js to Deliver Relief Supplies, Equipment to Nepal After Flash Floods

Air Force Times

The U.S. Air Force provided relief supplies and equipment to Nepal following flash floods in the South Asian country that have killed over 1,000 people. The service used two C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft from Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Sept. 2 to provide bobcat front loaders, first aid kits, stretchers and specialized disaster victim recovery supplies