Unmanned aerial vehicles are fair game for U.S. Special Operations Command’s armed overwatch platform competition, Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife told reporters on Feb. 25. However, the MQ-9 Reaper drone might not be up to the challenge in ...
The Air Force's new tactical aviation study will determine if a surge in F-35 production is needed in order to buy out the planned 1,763 airplanes before the 2040s. But that decision also will depend on funding, contractor capacity, and the need for complementary aircraft, ...
AFWERX expects to formally launch SpaceWERX—a center for military-space-centric innovation intended to support Space Force acquisition—this summer, AFWERX director Col. Nathan Diller told reporters at the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium on Feb. 24. “We are expecting very soon—in the coming months—to actually ...
Former Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper's transformational ideas on how to buy new systems will stay on track without him, senior service officials said Feb. 24. Digital engineering, agile software development, and open architectures will play a part in all new systems. But sticking ...
Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden sees even more consolidation among top-tier defense contractors in the next 20 years, but the reduction in traditional firms will likely be offset by a surge in new entrants, particularly in the cyber and space domains.
A B-1B bomber from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., landed in Bengaluru, India, on Feb. 3 as part of the Aero India trade show, marking the first time a U.S. bomber has landed in India since 1945. The Lancer, there for a Bomber Task Force ...
Plans to significantly reduce the U.S. footprint in Germany are now on hold as the new administration reviews the decision and its impacts, the head of U.S. European Command said Feb. 3. In July, then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and EUCOM boss Gen. Tod D. ...
Boeing on Jan. 27 reported another $275 million charge to its KC-46 program, pushing the total cost overruns it is responsible for to more than $5 billion in the past six years—more than the initial contract award for the tanker. The fourth quarter total means ...
The Air Force's highly classified Long-Range Standoff nuclear cruise missile program is running ahead of schedule and could enter the engineering and manufacturing development phase in May—as much as nine months ahead of schedule, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and ...
Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper told reporters Jan. 14 he hopes to wrap up at least two final items in his last week on the job: signing a strategy to develop and buy a mini-internet for the military to use in flight, and finishing ...
The Air Force bought 12 more KC-46s under a Jan. 12 contract awarded to Boeing for approximately $1.7 billion. The award modification, the sixth production lot for the program, means Boeing is now on contract for 79 of the new tankers. So far, the company ...
Northrop Grumman bested L3 Harris to win the right to develop a Next-Generation Electronic Warfare system for Air Force F-16s, potentially worth $2.5 billion in production, the company and Air Force officials reported. The development contract is worth $250 million, and if successful, installs could ...