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 ...
JASSM
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 ...
The ARRW hypersonic missile would equip B-1Bs refurbished and updated for a more potent long-range strike capability, Global Strike Command chief Gen. Timothy Ray said. The hypersonic missiles would be mounted on the external hardpoints once planned to carry AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missiles, but not ...
Production surge slows as Air Force nears weapons goal.
Marillyn Hewson is stepping aside as head of Lockheed Martin, to be succeeded by board member James Taiclet, while Frank St. John steps up to be Chief Operating Officer. Taiclet is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with degrees in engineering and international ...
The newest variant of the Air Force’s advanced, stealthy Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile-Extreme Range will start low-rate initial production next year, with deliveries beginning in 2024, according to the service’s budget request. The Air Force’s fiscal 2021 request includes $506 million total for ...
