Although
he’s generally satisfied with the range of weapons in his inventory, Air Combat Command chief Gen. William Fraser said he’s anxious to get going on a new air superiority missile. “We need to move out on … a fifth-generation weapon for our fifth-generation fighters,” in the form of the DRADM, which stands for Dual-Role Air Dominance Missile. The DRADM is supposed to deliver sharp improvement increases over the existing AIM-9 and AIM-120 dogfight missiles, particularly in the terminal phase.
The U.S. has approved a $310.5 million Foreign Military Sale to provide Ukraine with maintenance and training for its F-16 fighter jets, the State Department announced May 2. Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force has been sending retired F-16s to Ukraine to be used for spare parts.