Air Force Reveals Range and Inventory Goals for F-47, CCAs By John A. Tirpak The F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter will have a combat radius greater than 1,000 miles—nearly double that of the F-22—and the Air Force plans to acquire...
Deliveries of Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus tanker to the U.S. Air Force have restarted following a roughly three-month pause imposed after cracks were found in at least two brand-new aircraft. The problem was only the latest in a series that have plagued the 767-derivative.
In a potential fast-moving future conflict, spread widely across the Pacific, the U.S. would depend on mighty Air Force C-5 and C-17 airlifters to move vast amounts of military materiel. But they can’t do the job alone. Air Mobility Command’s 1,145 tankers and cargo aircraft ...
KC-135 Stratotankers have arrived in Saudi Arabia to replace the KC-10s which recently left the region for good after 30-plus years of service. The aerial tankers from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., arrived at Prince Sultan Air Base on Oct. 2. The 384th Expeditionary Air ...

Letters

June 22, 2023
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The Future Force

March 31, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak
At least 20 new airplane programs—including a handful that are variants—are in some stage of planning or development. If sustained, this airplane-building campaign will lower the average age of the fleet, increase its size, and enhance its ability to be upgraded rapidly.