If Congress agrees with the Air Force’s request to retire 32 Block 20 F-22s as part of its fiscal 2024 budget, the aircraft be used as trainers a while longer, then stored for an undetermined period at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base’s Aerospace Maintenance and ...
B-2
The Air Force’s B-21 Raider will be the world’s most advanced stealthy bomber when it is fielded later in this decade. For Air Force leaders, the challenge will be to fund the B-21 program to rapidly acquire the inventory it needs to meet operational demands.
At least 20 new airplane programs—including a handful that are variants—are in some stage of planning or development. If sustained, this airplane-building campaign will lower the average age of the fleet, increase its size, and enhance its ability to be upgraded rapidly.
The future U.S. bomber force could provide a way for the Pentagon to simultaneously deter conflict with peer adversaries in two geographically disparate theaters, said Mark Gunzinger, the director of future concepts and capability assessments at AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, during a March ...
The B-21 Raider will be the “future backbone of the bomber fleet,” the head of Air Force Global Strike Command Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere said March 7. The new bomber, which is expected to fly this year, is just one part of a broad effort ...
WORLD: New KC-46s coming ... with problems in tow; Air Force generals concerns over modernization; Hinote wants faster technology development.
A new generation of precision weapons is needed to enhance modern strike capability and deter potential aggressors. “We need fifth-generation weapons to go with our fifth-generation Air Force,” said Gen. Mark D. Kelly, head of Air Combat Command, in October 2021, counting such munitions among ...
The B-2 Spirit remains grounded due to safety issues—and the plane’s stand-down is beginning to disrupt planned operations. According to information provided to the media, the stealth strategic bomber from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., was originally scheduled to participate ...
The Pentagon is now taking a longer view of Beijing’s military plans and development, shifting from a near-term focus to mid-century, when China plans to be the world’s dominant superpower.
With the B-21 rollout, the Air Force begins recapitalizing the bomber force.
A day after publicly disclosing a safety stand-down for its entire fleet of B-2 Spirit bombers, the the Air Force is clarifying that the nuclear-capable B-2 can still fly—if absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense is probing the Dec. 10 incident at Whiteman Air ...
The Air Force has ordered a safety stand-down for its entire fleet of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, after an emergency landing damaged one of the billion-dollar planes Dec. 10 at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., and closed the base’s only runway.