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 ...
F-15C
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 ...
Sharply rising support costs among aging fleets are devouring money the Air Force needs to spend on new technology and new hardware, service Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom said. The Air Force has to figure out how to divest old hardware ...
An F-15C Eagle set a record for the longest air-to-air kill, but we won’t know what the record is. In March, an F-15C fired an AIM-120D AMRAAM at a BQM-167 targeting drone in the longest known air-to-air missile shot to date, resulting in a “kill” ...
The first F-15EX landed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., March 11, a day after the Air Force officially took delivery of the jet. Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mark D. Kelly will deliver the second airplane to Eglin the week of April 6.
Boeing's F-15EX fighter made its first flight Feb. 2—a 90-minute hop around St. Louis, Mo., checking out flying qualities and general systems. No issues were reported publicly. The jet is one of two that will begin developmental and operational testing at Eglin Air Force Base, ...
The Air Force saw a total of 33 hypoxia-like events in its T-6A Texan II trainer fleet in fiscal 2020—a nearly 20 percent decrease from the fiscal year prior—Air Force Safety Center data obtained by Air Force Magazine shows. However, the rate of these events—defined ...
Every year, Congress and the military debate which combat assets should head to the boneyard and which have more life left in them. Lawmakers often opt to keep Air Force systems that bring jobs to their districts, which complicates matters as the service looks to ...
The lack of training ranges and airspace in Japan are making it difficult for U.S. aircrews to maintain readiness during the pandemic, the head of U.S. forces in Japan said. U.S. and Japanese aircraft and personnel need to leave the country for high-end training, often ...
