Air Force Global Strike Command chief Gen. Timothy M. Ray offered a blunt assessment of the Army’s plan to take over some of the Air Force’s long-range strike mission. “It’s a stupid idea,” he said during an AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies podcast. The ...
U.S. Air Forces in Europe last week wrapped its Advanced Battle Management System demonstration, bringing together dozens of aircraft from U.S. military services and multiple countries to find new ways to share data and operate together. The USAFE “on ramp” demonstration was the first to ...
A B-1B bomber on Dec. 4 released a JASSM stealth missile from its Sniper targeting pod pylon. The demonstration follows a captive-carry dress rehearsal in November, and paves the way for the B-1 to carry a variety of munitions, but especially hypersonic missiles, on external ...
The Air Force's major acquisition programs collectively increased in cost $3.7 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, according the Pentagon's latest Selected Acquisition Reports. Most of the increases were due to buying more units and services. The F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning ...
Air Force airlifters are one step closer to becoming bomb trucks after the service awarded Lockheed Martin a $25 million contract to continue developing palletized munitions. The contract, awarded in August and announced this week by the company, includes a demonstration in 2021 to assess ...
As Congress looks to delay passage of a new federal funding package until after the November elections, the Air Force is warning that even a three-month gap would harm national defense. “[Continuing resolutions] immediately disrupt major exercises and training events, affect readiness and maintenance, curtail ...
Democratic senators on Aug. 4 indicated they could hold up the confirmation of Shon J. Manasco as Air Force undersecretary as recourse for the Trump administration’s decision to install a controversial official into a key Pentagon policy post without Senate approval. That standoff loomed over ...
USAF F-16s, KC-135s, MC-130Js, and MQ-9s linked up with U.S. Navy aircraft and ships as well as support from U.S. Space Command during a large-scale exercise in the Black Sea on July 22. The mission in Eastern Europe, with Russia watching, “was designed to train ...
Two B-1s deployed to the Pacific on July 17, flying intercept training with Japanese F-15Js before landing at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for the first time since May. The two Lancers from the 37th Bomb Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., flew directly ...
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s defense spending plan for 2021 would give the Air Force and Space Force largely what they want, with some notable tweaks. “What this bipartisan bill does is straightforward: care for our troops; preserve peace through strength; and defend this great ...
The Wild Weasels at Misawa Air Base, Japan, showed off their advanced armament in the base’s first joint, bilateral elephant walk on June 22. Twelve F-16CMs from the base lined up with 12 Japanese F-35As, two U.S. Navy E/A-18G Growlers, a Navy C-12, two U.S. ...
Bombers are a better bet than standoff weapons for managing combat at long range, according to a new Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies report, released June 18. While standoff weapons are needed for key targets inside a well-fortified enemy's air defenses, only bombers can provide ...