John Stillion

A decade and a half after awarding a contract for a new ground control system to manage its GPS satellites, the Pentagon has finally gotten its hands on the thing. The Space Force officially took ownership of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System, or OCX, ...

Space Force leaders have touted their “surveillance-as-a-service" TacSRT program as a success story, leveraging commercial firms to deliver information to users on timelines far faster than typical space intelligence assets. Now, lawmakers want the service to put more heft behind the effort—starting with actually funding the ...

Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs. 

The Air Force permanently transferred F-16 fighter jets from Misawa Air Base in Japan to Osan Air Base in South Korea late last month, the next step in its transition to base F-35s in Japan. The move continues a modernization...

Space Training and Readiness Command is “on a good path” to develop a digital environment where Guardians can train together across different locations against realistic threats in the next year or two, according to outgoing commander Maj. Gen. Timothy A. Sejba 

The Air Force is once again tightening its standards for dress and appearance, banning eyelash extensions for female Airmen and setting a minimum height for combat boots. 

U.S. Special Operations Command is once again slowing its purchases of the new OA-1K Skyraider II multipurpose counterinsurgency plane, as the Pentagon pivots its budget to prepare for a high-end conflict following two decades of wars in the Middle East.

The Air Force and Space Force kicked off a busy summer of major exercises across the Pacific on July 8, with thousands of Airmen and Guardians and hundreds of aircraft and satellites set to participate in a so-called Department-Level Exercise series. 

The Space Force has tapped Boeing to build up to four new satellites for the critical nuclear command, control, and communications mission. The contract award, announced by Space Systems Command July 3, is valued at $2.8 billion for the first two satellites, with an option ...

The Space Force is canceling a competition to build new satellites for jam-resistant tactical communications, instead choosing to focus on operationalizing two prototypes it plans to launch next year. 

The Air Force appears to be leaning buying toward more KC-46 refuelers rather than developing a stealthy future tanker, based on budget documents released this week. USAF’s plans prioritize connectivity upgrades and self-protection measures for its aerial refueling fleet.  No...

The Space Force's first planned satellite launch to begin a new missile warning constellation in medium-Earth orbit has slipped from late 2026 to spring 2027 as a key component remains unproven. But the service is making progress and moving forward with plans for new batches ...

The long-term future of one of the Space Development Agency’s two satellite constellations is on hold as officials study the options for replacing a planned “data transport layer” with one or more commercial solutions. President Trump’s proposed 2026 defense budget...

An instructor pilot didn’t fully insert a safety pin into his T-6 ejection seat when taxiing after a flight last spring, then inadvertently pulled the handle while not fully buckled into his seat—leading to his death when the ejection system sent him 100 feet into the ...

Buoyed mostly by extra funds earmarked for Golden Dome in the reconciliation bill being considered by Congress, the Space Force says its 2026 budget request is roughly $40 billion—an increase of more than 30 percent over 2025. Among the services, the Space Force is getting the ...