Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper oversaw leadership changes for two combatant commands—U.S. Space Command and U.S. Northern Command—during back-to-back ceremonies at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., on Aug. 20. Army Gen. James H. Dickinson assumed command of SPACECOM from USAF Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, ...
aircraft
Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost received her fourth star and took over leadership of Air Mobility Command during an Aug. 20 ceremony at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. With the change of command and the retirement of her predecessor, Gen. Maryanne Miller, Van Ovost takes ...
Non-essential personnel and their families evacuated from Travis Air Force Base on Aug. 19 because of the threat of the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, 60th Air Mobility Wing spokesperson Capt. Amanda M. Farr confirmed to Air Force Magazine. The base also began evacuating its aircraft ...
The Air Force is crafting new policy that envisions more fluidity between conventional and nuclear weapons, as well as a broader range of options to keep others from using their own nuclear weapons. The U.S. has long treated conventional and nuclear warfare as separate concepts, ...
Specially equipped C-130s are supporting fire responses across California, where numerous blazes have destroyed dozens of homes and prompted evacuations throughout the state. Four C-130s from the California Air National Guard’s 146th, the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd, and Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift ...
Two of the Air Force’s three bombers recently flew simultaneous long-range missions across the Indo-Pacific, with two different sets of B-1s training alongside Japanese fighters and Navy ships, while stealth B-2s flew their own training mission in the Indian Ocean. Two bomber task forces are ...
The Air Force is pursuing a speedy program for a new air-breathing hypersonic missile, equipped with a modular payload bay that apparently will be used for something other than submunitions, according to a service solicitation. USAF solicited Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon for the work, ...
Air Force F-35As from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, have patrolled the skies of the Middle East continuously for the past 16 months. During the 34th Fighter Squadron's eight-month deployment, the squadron tested new tactics for the fifth-generation F-35A that will lay the groundwork for ...
The Air Force will put its F-15EX schoolhouse in the location where the Air National Guard now trains F-15C/D Eagle pilots, at Kingsley Field, Ore., the service announced Aug. 14. Oregon will also receive the first operational F-15EXs, but other Guard units giving up aging ...
Pentagon researchers this week will pit man against machine in an aerial dogfighting tournament to see if artificial intelligence algorithms can outsmart each other and a human F-16 pilot in combat. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s AlphaDogfight Trials will host eight teams that have ...
Air Combat Command is preparing to consolidate its fighter, rescue, and command-and-control enterprises into a new numbered air force that will help military leaders wield those forces more effectively. This month, the Air Force will bring its Ninth and 12th Air Forces under one roof ...
The AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), the Air Force’s first hypersonic weapon, completed its last captive-carry test flight on a B-52 on Aug. 8. During the test, which was conducted off the coast of Southern California, the AGM-183A Instrumented Measurement Vehicle-2 transmitted telemetry and ...