The U.S. can’t assume that exercising long-range airpower will always mean one-off strikes such as the recent Midnight Hammer operation against Iran, the two-star general overseeing the Air Force bomber fleet said Aug. 7, arguing that the military must invest now in options for high-tempo ...
B-21
By the time the 2026 defense budget request arrived on Capitol Hill in June, Congress was closing in on passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, a massive tax-and-spending bill that included some $150 billion for defense. The budget reconciliation measure narrowly passed the ...
Expanded production of the B-21 bomber can be accomplished at Northrop Grumman's existing Palmdale, Calif., facilities, the Air Force said. The service also stated that test aircraft will be so similar to the production version that early examples could be used in combat if necessary.
U.S. bomber units are stepping up the pace of combat operations and overseas training as demand for their capabilities grows around the globe, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command said June 5.
The Air Force is ready to add more nuclear warheads to its bomber aircraft and underground missiles if ordered to do so when a key arms control treaty expires next year, its top nuclear officer said June 5.
The Air Force might want to buy more than the planned fleet of 100 B-21 bombers, particularly if the coming B-52J upgrade proves more challenging than anticipated, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Allvin Makes the Case for More Airpower It’s all about ‘more options for the President,’ CSAF says. By Chris Gordon Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin dialed up the intensity of his calls for “more Air Force” in...
Why retiring the B-1 too soon could undermine U.S. security. The U.S. Air Force plans to start retiring the B-1 Lancer fleet to make room for the new, sixth-generation B-21 Raider. But the Air Force is planning to do that...
The Air Force should buy 145 stealth B-21 bombers to cope with the increased threats to U.S. security since that program came into being, Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, head of U.S. Strategic Command, said. He also said the Air Force and the Navy should reconsider ...
Air & Space Forces Magazine traveled the the globe in 2024 to cover the biggest stories involving the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, from Ukraine to the Middle East, from Florida to California. Now, as we head into 2025, here are some of the ...
The Air Force is working on a sweeping force structure review mandated by Congress and reconsidering its approach for the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter. Key to both, however, could be another question: just how large will the service’s B-21 bomber fleet be? During an Oct. 24 earnings ...
The Air Force on Sept. 18 warned that a failure to pass a new budget for the federal government for part or all of fiscal 2025 could degrade military readiness and slow the arrival of critical equipment as Congress ticks toward a shutdown in less ...