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.
Air Force
The Air Force has ruled the M18 service pistol is “safe and reliable” after inspecting more than 100,000 of the service’s 9mm pistols, according to a Sept. 2 announcement. Leaders ordered a force-wide inspection after a July 20, 2025, discharge of an M18 killed an ...
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.
In June 2026, airpower experts from the U.S. Air Force, seven allied air forces, and industry convened for a three-day wargame designed to stress notional 2036 USAF combat forces in a series of concurrent crises: a Russian assault against NATO...
Verbatim – September/October 2026 × Ready or Not “When General Wilsbach came in as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, he made “fixing” one of the key elements of what we need to do, and put a spotlight...
The Guts to Try I was heartened by the language Gen. Dan Caine used for the toast to the Doolittle Raiders [“Verbatim: A Heroe’s Toast,” May/June, p. 12]—“They proved that if you have the guts to try, great things can...
New Enlisted Recruiting Commander By Todd South The Air Force appointed a colonel to head enlisted recruiting, more than 18 months after combining officer and enlisted recruiting into a single organization. Col. Lacresha A. Merkle took command of Air Force...
New Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missiles By Greg Hadley The Pentagon’s top research lab is interested in developing a hypersonic cruise missile prototype that provides “a revolutionary leap in operational performance,” as the first wave of U.S. hypersonic weapons enters production...
The 492nd SOW Lands at Davis-Monthan By Stephen Losey As the last few A-10 Warthogs leave Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Air Force Special Operations Command is accelerating plans to move a new wing to the Arizona base. The 492nd...