Jack Broughton

For years, sustainment challenges and spare parts shortages have hindered the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s readiness. But the Air Force’s experience flying F-35s heavily in operations against Iran have showed what the jet can be capable of, if maintainers get all the supplies and support ...

The Air Force plans to field at least 500 semi-autonomous fighter drones known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft by 2032, and another 500 cheap reconnaissance and strike drones known as Massed Modular Aircraft that same year, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Sept. 14.

Lockheed Martin’s proposed autonomous drone, called Vectis, is still on track to fly a prototype by the end of 2027, an official from the company’s Skunk Works division said Sept. 10, and the firm already started work on four more Vectis aircraft.

General Atomics has unveiled the first renderings of its Wildfire drone, which it plans to pitch for the Air Force’s hunt for a new, low-cost Massed Modular Aircraft.

One year into a new campaign to boost readiness rates for the B-1B Lancer and B-52H Stratofortress bombers, Air Force Global Strike Command is claiming some early wins and planning to forge ahead with more improvements.

The Air Force is accelerating its plans to field an MQ-9A replacement in the wake of heavy Reaper losses in operations against Iran, top officials said Sept. 3, and they’re targeting a price point of just $10 million per aircraft.

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.

The Air Force’s decision to more than double its purchase of F-15EX Eagle II jets may bolster the service’s fighter fleet, but it also comes with risks and questions officials will have to manage in the years ahead, a new Pentagon report warns.

The Air Force has pulled a piece of testing equipment for its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles after discovering some appeared to be contaminated with a possible carcinogen.

Inflation and rising costs for critical upgrades are swelling the price of the F-35 fighter, according to a newly released acquisition report on the fifth-generation jet.

The Air Force awarded a sweeping—and potentially massive—F-15 contract to Boeing this week, one that a top aviation expert said could provide a new approach to major program acquisitions and greater stability for the defense industry.

The Pentagon on Aug. 25 announced a pair of Air Force contracts to Raytheon and Boeing, totaling more than $766 million, for advance work on adding new radars to the B-52H Stratofortress.

The Air Force is planning to award Northrop Grumman a contract that could allow the RQ-4 Global Hawk to keep flying into 2033. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center posted a presolicitation notice Aug. 17 saying it plans to award Northrop a sole-source contract ...

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems predicts the new drone it plans to pitch for the military’s “Massed Modular Aircraft” program will exceed many of the military’s requirements for a successor to the MQ-9 Reaper.

Vital infrastructure at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, is suffering due to years of deferred maintenance and climate-related stressors, government auditors said in a new report—two prominent examples of larger issues affecting bases worldwide.