The Air Force wants to funnel $1.4 billion on air base defense weapon systems to protect its homeland installations and forward-deployed airfields from drones and enemy missile threats.
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The Air Force is planning to divest 149 aircraft in fiscal 2027, including nearly half of its remaining A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft and its last U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes. The Air Force plans to over $30 billion to buy over 100 new aircraft.
The Air Force’s annual budget request, with increases in nearly every category, seeks to balance the need to obtain an affordable mass of munitions for magazine depth with the development of exquisite new missiles to penetrate enemy defenses.
The Space Force plans to use $1 billion in fiscal 2027 funding to build four new space operations centers, part of a broader push to right-size the service’s infrastructure amid growing demand for space capabilities.
The Pentagon has canceled its contract with RTX to field a ground segment to manage its most capable GPS satellites, a more than 15-year effort beleaguered by software development issues and cost overages.
MQ-9 Reapers used against Iran offer insights as the Air Force develops the next generation of unmanned planes: collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), retired Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell and Douglas A. Birkey write.
An Air Force study now underway could help decide the way forward for the Air Force's next-generation aerial refueling system, the acting head of Air Mobility Command said April 20.
The Air Force recently tested the Rusty Dagger, a low-cost cruise missile, with the F-16, one of several industry offerings in the Pentagon's larger effort to field affordable weapons.
The Air Force is extending the life of the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack plane until at least 2030, pausing the service’s plan to retire the close air support aircraft amid active combat in the Middle East.