U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has two new squadrons of F-35s at its disposal in Alaska just as “quite a bit of action” has taken place in the combatant command’s area of responsibility and the “advanced threats” there are becoming “more lethal,” said the squadrons’ wing commander, ...
Purchases of new F-35 fighters, KC-46 tankers, and C-130 transports in recent years have made only a small dent in the age of the Air Force’s fleet, down to 29.1 years across all types after hitting 30.55 years in 2020. But the service operates eight ...
Images of a new, two-seat version of China's J-20 stealth fighter, circulated on the internet, raise questions about the jet's purpose. It could be meant as a trainer, as a ground-attack variant, or as a platform for managing unmanned aircraft flying in coordination with other ...
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 ...
Of the scores of legacy aircraft the Air Force has sought, year over year, to retire, many reside in the Air National Guard, making up a small but sizable portion of the Guard’s 1,046-aircraft fleet. But while the proposed retirements would have an outsized impact ...
The Air Force is working to improve safety and reduce pilot physiological events in some of the aircraft most commonly cited for those issues, but the service can do only so much to reduce risk due to human error and the “hazards inherent to the ...
F-15s from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, have deployed to Iceland to take up the NATO Air Policing mission there for the second time in less than a year. The three F-15C/Ds, plus an F-15E from the 493rd’s sister unit, the 494th ...
Even with a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in the defense budget, losing a conflict with China still becomes a “distinct possibility" without both aircraft cuts and a fundamental change in how the Air Force structures itself for war, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles ...
Maj. Gen. Bryan P. Radliff on June 4 took command of 10th Air Force, one of three Reserve numbered air forces. The 10th Air Force oversees Air Force Reserve Command’s strike, ISR, space, cyber, and special operations assets. Radliff previously served as the mobilization assistant ...
The Air Force is asking to retire 201 airplanes and buy 91 new ones in its fiscal 2022 budget request, representing a net decrease of 110 airplanes. The fighter fleet would drop by 77 aircraft, and the RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet would be cut by ...
The Air Force's fighter fleet generally saw an uptick in mission capable rates in fiscal 2020. The most dramatic improvement was the F-35's. Its rate jumped from 61.6 percent in fiscal 2019 to just over 76 percent in fiscal 2020. The F-15D's and E's MC ...
The F-15EX achieved mixed results in its first major force wargame—Northern Edge 2021—but that was the idea, a member of the type's combined test team reported. The F-15EX showed that it can do the mission of the F-15C, and then some, but data has yet ...