Greg Hadley
Greg Hadley is the News Editor of Air & Space Forces Magazine. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he has more than seven years of experience in national and local media, working for The State (Columbia, S.C.) and the McClatchy D.C. Bureau.
Recent stories by Greg Hadley
New Report: Engine Problems Led to MQ-9 Crash in Africa Last Year
A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 suffered an engine failure flying over Africa in May 2023, forcing the drone’s pilot to down it in the ocean where it was not recovered, according to a new Air Force report. The cost of the mishap was more than ...
‘Interchangeable Almost:’ NATO Air Deputy Pushes Even Deeper Integration
NATO Allied Air Command is making moves now for its member nations’ air forces to be able to service each others’ fighters, fly them with each others’ weapons, and integrate more closely together than they have in decades, a top official said April 24—ahead of an influx ...
Will Unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft Mean Airmen Need New AFSCs?
Even as the Air Force prepares to award more contracts for Collaborative Combat Aircraft in the coming months and field them in the next few years, the service is still considering how its Airmen will interact with and operate the unmanned “wingman” drones, the head of ...
New Satellite Data Layer Connects Army, Navy, NATO—with Link 16
The Space Development Agency is fine-tuning and expanding its data transport satellites’ Link 16 connectivity, preparing for them to become the “backbone” of the Pentagon’s ambitious joint all-domain command and control system—and perhaps beyond that to NATO.
USSF Doubles Down on Responsive Space with 2 Contracts
The Space Force’s first mission to launch a satellite in record time was so nice, the service is doing it twice for the follow-up.Space Systems Command, with some help from the Defense Innovation Unit, awarded two contracts for its next tactically responsive space mission, Victus ...
Kendall: Space Guard ‘Doesn’t Make Any Sense,’ USSF Has New Authorities to Manage Transition
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall offered his sharpest critique yet of a proposed Space National Guard on April 10, telling reporters at the annual Space Symposium that the idea “doesn’t make any sense” and new authorities granted to the Space Force make it better positioned ...
Space Force’s New Commercial Strategy Emphasizes SATCOM and SDA
The Space Force is ready to integrate commercial satellites and systems into a broad range of missions, starting with satellite communications and space domain awareness, according to the service’s newly released Commercial Space Strategy. The strategy, unveiled April 10 after months of waiting, reaffirms what the Pentagon’s ...
SPACECOM Boss: ‘It’s Time’ to Embrace In-Orbit Servicing, Refueling for Satellites
The Pentagon’s space assets need to be able to maneuver in orbit, be refueled and repaired, and keep going, the head of U.S. Space Command said April 9—and those capabilities need to be fielded quickly to deter conflict. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting made the case for ...
AFMC Names New Program Officers, Details Reoptimization Changes
Brig. Gen. Luke C.G. Cropsey, or whoever succeeds him as the Department of the Air Force’s top acquisition official for command, control, and communications/battle management, is poised to take command of the new Air Force Information Dominance Systems Center. The service will also establish a program ...
Contractor Who Walked Into MQ-9 Propeller Lost Situational Awareness
A contractor died in California last year after walking into the moving propeller of an MQ-9 during ground testing. Air Force investigators blamed a host of factors for the deadly accident, including the victim losing situational awareness while focusing on taking telemetry readings, inadequate training, poor ...
New KC-46 Wing Pods Being Tested to Enable Two Aircraft to Refuel at Once
After years of fits and starts, the KC-46's Wing Aerial Refueling Pods started operational testing last month out of McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., giving the Pegasus the ability to refuel two aircraft at the same time. McConnell is the first operational base to get the ...
Contractor Crashed MQ-9 on Loan from Air Force in 2023, Causing $16 Million in Damage
The contractor behind a program to use drones to capture data from hypersonic tests crashed an MQ-9 on loan from the Air Force last year, causing $16 million in damages, according to a new accident investigation report. The crash took place Jan. 18, 2023, at Southern ...
Pentagon Wants to Make Commercial Space ‘Integral,’ Especially in These Areas
The Department of Defense wants to make commercial capabilities “integral” to its space architectures in a way that goes beyond how the Pentagon typically relies on contractors, with particular focus on more than a half dozen mission areas. What’s more, the department made clear in its first-ever ...
F-35s Deploy to Poland to Keep ‘Safeguarding’ NATO
Four U.S. Air Force F-35 fighters deployed to Poland on April 1 to help guard NATO’s eastern flank, keeping up a steady American presence in the region dating back to the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Allvin’s Newest Must-Read Book Inspired TV’s ‘Masters of the Air’
The TV show “Masters of the Air,” which tells the story of the U.S. Army Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group during World War II, has garnered strong critical reviews and big streaming numbers for Apple TV+. Now Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin ...