Stephen Losey

The Air Force’s new Collaborative Combat Aircraft may fly scores of missions over many years or only a few if commanders decide a mission is worth the risk of losing one, a top official said this week—a middle ground approach he called “optionally attritable.”

After years of struggling to get the KC-46A Pegasus an updated and improved remote vision system for aerial refueling, Air Force officials say the end of the saga is in sight.

The Air Force is preparing to move toward prototyping and testing a next-generation advanced engine and wants to be ready to integrate it onto an aircraft around 2030.

A major planned upgrade for the F-35 fighter’s engine is expected to reach a major milestone in August when it undergoes its critical design review, an Air Force official said July 27.

A second B-52H Stratofortress is now being modified with a upgraded radar for testing after the first test bomber crashed in June, and work is expected to be completed by the end of the year, officials said July 27.

Canada’s decision to join a European-centered sixth-generation fighter program as an observer is another sign that U.S. allies are increasingly looking elsewhere for key weapons system procurements, experts said.

General Atomics plans to pitch a brand new design for a low-cost, attritable drone to take on missions now carried out by its MQ-9 Reaper.

President Donald Trump said July 19 the new “bridge” Air Force One will soon receive additional modifications amid reported concerns about the state of its defensive capabilities.

For former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, building Airmen’s trust in Collaborative Combat Aircraft is a crucial step in the fast-moving development and deployment of the semi-autonomous drones.

An Air Force F-16 pilot was presented with one of the service’s highest aerial achievement awards for a mission in which he dodged multiple surface-to-air missiles during last year’s Operation Rough Rider against Houthi militants in Yemen.

One of the Air Force’s developmental Collaborative Combat Aircraft fired a live missile in a recent test, marking a critical step forward in the development of the service’s fleet of semi-autonomous drone fighters.

The Air Force plans to buy up to 11,200 copies of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and its anti-ship variant over the next five to seven years, a dramatic increase in production for the critical long-range cruise missiles

The Air Force’s “software sold separately” plan to buy critical autonomy software decoupled from the physical air vehicle for its nascent Collaborative Combat Aircraft fleet could help the drones evolve quickly, foster competition, and avoid vendor lock-in, experts and service officials told Air & Space ...

The Air Force has officially decided the B-21 Raider will fly with a two-pilot air crew—and it may draw from the ranks of weapon system and combat systems officers to fill those roles.

The Pentagon is looking for industry’s ideas for lower-cost, attritable drones that can fly in groups and take on some of the missions that MQ-9A Reapers have performed.