As futuristic aviation programs gain priority, the F-35—the only in-production, fifth-generation American fighter—is facing new headwinds. Fresh debate over its challenges and its potential in the coming months will shape its future role in the force.
The Pentagon will no longer require civilian employees to submit a weekly list of five accomplishments from the previous week, ending a monthslong requirement that was first promoted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a senior defense official told employees in a recent ...
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a swift and sweeping review of the defense budget, seeking cuts worth 8 percent of total spending over the next five years that he intends to shift to fund higher-priority defense projects.
President-elect Donald Trump has picked Dr. Troy E. Meink to become the next Secretary of the Air Force, he announced Jan. 16. Meink is currently the principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, a Department of Defense intelligence agency that works closely with the ...
Pete Hegseth vowed to review plans for the future of the Air Force during a contentious three-and-half-hour confirmation hearing Jan. 14 on his nomination to serve as the next Secretary of Defense. Perhaps the most significant Air Force decision Hegseth will face, if he is confirmed ...
The Air Force has a word of caution for those who are urging that autonomous systems supplant crewed platforms: we still need a human in the loop.
News last fall that SpaceX owner and CEO Elon Musk restricted the Ukrainian military’s use of his Starlink satellite broadband service to stymie an attack on Russian forces highlighted the extraordinary power wielded in that war by a single business owner with some outlandish ideas. But ...
The Space Force is bolstering its satellite network—and its ties to SpaceX—with a $70 million contract for the company’s new Starshield service. Starshield, often described as a government equivalent to SpaceX’s Starlink network, is made up of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and will provide ...
Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond offered some of his early observations on the role of space activities in the war in Ukraine. After nearly a three-year pandemic hiatus, many of the world's top national security and foreign affairs officials gathered in ...
Reports of production troubles on the SpaceX rocket that could contend for military cargo deliveries happened to coincide with a different company’s concept receiving an early nod—one that might not require a rocket at all.
SpaceX will carry data-transport and missile-tracking satellites to orbit for the Space Development Agency, the Pentagon said Dec. 31. SpaceX won a $150.5 million contract for two launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., starting in September 2022. The entire constellation of up to 28 ...
When the revived U.S. Space Command got up and running more than one year ago, Pentagon leaders faced the question: They knew they needed the group again, but how would it work? The organization, which manages operations of the satellites, radars, and other support systems ...