aviation

Pentagon Working on Mini Nuclear Reactors for Emergency Power

March 5, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak
Miniature nuclear power units that could either provide emergency electricity for domestic bases or power for units deployed to austere locations are under development, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief Ellen Lord told reporters March 4. “We’re looking at small, modular nuclear reactors,” Lord said at ...

Goldfein Defends USAF Decision to Retire Legacy Aircraft

March 4, 2020 | By Amy Hudson
Air Force leaders are urging members of Congress to sit down with them in a classified setting so they can better understand the service’s thinking behind its fiscal 2021 budget request, which once again attempts to retire a host of legacy platforms to free up ...

USAF Still 2,100 Pilots Short of Goal

March 3, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
The Air Force needs 2,100 more pilots to reach its goal of 21,000 aviators, indicating that efforts to stem the pilot shortage have not yet been successful. “Increasing production of new aviators remains the most significant lever we have to arrest aircrew shortages,” service officials ...

US Sends Message to Russia, China in Africa

March 3, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine
The Air Force recently sent an unexpected aircraft over the village of Kismayo, a rural town on the Somali coast that has been a hotbed of extremist activity by groups such as al-Shabab. A nuclear-capable B-52, forward deployed to U.S. Central Command, flew an unmistakable ...

Goldfein: USAF Won’t Use KC-46 Unless It Has To

March 3, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen
Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told Senate legislators March 3 the service will not use the new KC-46 tanker unless absolutely necessary to fight a powerful adversary. The wide-ranging Senate Armed Services Committee hearing—the first of multiple chances the Air Force has this week ...