Gen. Howell M. Estes III, whose last Air Force assignments were as commander of NORAD and U.S. and Air Force Space Commands, has died at age 82. Estes flew 169 missions in the Vietnam War and commanded the super-secret F-117 fighter unit.
The Air Force’s “4+1” fighter plan for the 2020s, unveiled in recent months, will leave the service with a fleet that’s too small and improperly configured to deal with peer threats. What’s needed is a plan that emphasizes stealth aircraft; rapidly retires non-stealthy and expensive-to-maintain ...
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works opened a new factory at its Palmdale, Calif., location Aug. 10, where it will likely produce multiple types of secret vehicles simultaneously. The factory exploits new digital technologies and automation that offer flexibility and speed of manufacturing, especially of short-run programs. ...
The recent ABMS experiment demonstrated great value in artificial intelligence, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mark D. Kelly said in a September 14 press conference at AFA's virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference. The value it offers is in potentially bringing more information into decision-making ...
The Air Force should replace traditional metrics like cost per flying hour and unit price when calculating the cost of weapon systems with metrics that instead account for weapons' efficiency and effectiveness. By focusing instead on cost-per-effect, a new study argues, the Air Force can ...
A powerful earthquake in the vicinity of Tonopah Test Range in Nevada did not cause any immediately apparent damage to the base or facilities on the nearby Nellis range complex, a Nellis Air Force Base spokesperson reported. Tonopah is where the Air Force maintains its ...