House-Senate Conferees require a larger Air Force in the final version of the fiscal 2021 defense bill, directing the service to build the 386 combat squadrons it said it needs to meet the National Defense Strategy, and specifically raising the bomber fleet to 225 aircraft, ...
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 Air Force’s aerial refueling fleet could be the first platform to adopt new technologies developed under the Advanced Battle Management System effort, integrating pods complete with advanced communications and data links to feed information, along with gas, to combat aircraft as early as next ...
Senate appropriators on Nov. 10 released a $696 billion defense funding bill for fiscal 2021 that offers the Department of the Air Force less money than it requested for most spending accounts. The proposal comes more than a month into the fiscal year, as the ...
The Air Force is moving forward with its “bridge tanker” project—the air-refueling aircraft acquisition formerly known as “KC-Y”—in a “full and open competition” to replace the KC-135 Stratotanker fleet. It is a stepping stone to a more futuristic tanker, Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Jacqueline ...
F-35As from the U.S. Air Force’s 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and F-35I “Adir” fighters from the Israeli Air Force’s 116th Squadron teamed up for Enduring Lightning III, a joint offensive counter air training exercise over Israel, on Oct. 12, according to an Air Forces Central ...
The head of U.S. Transportation Command said Oct. 7 he sees new “momentum” to protect some legacy tanker aircraft from retirement. Canceling that proposed divestment would help the mobility enterprise avoid an oncoming “train wreck” of a tanker shortage while the new KC-46 is delayed, ...
60th Air Mobility Wing Commander Col. Corey A. Simmons gave non-essential Airmen and their families the all-clear to return to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., as of 10 a.m. PDT on Aug. 21, following a wildfire-induced evacuation on Aug. 19, the base announced in a ...
Non-essential personnel won’t be allowed to return to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., for at least one more day, and most base services remain shuttered after the LNU Lightning Complex Fire forced personnel and aircraft to preventatively evacuate from the installation on Aug. 19, according ...
Draft versions of the 2021 defense policy bill in both the House and Senate will keep enough legacy tankers in the Air Force to “bridge” the fleet to the point where the KC-46 will become fully operational without extensive stress on the military’s refueling backbone, ...
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is eyeing new strides in artificial intelligence and biological technology as it lays plans for fiscal 2022, its acting director said July 30. Former DARPA Director Steven H. Walker’s departure to industry in January offers an “opportunity to rethink ...
The Air Force’s first KC-10 Extender is heading to the boneyard after 33 years of service, totaling more than 33,000 flight hours and refueling more than 125,000 aircraft. The KC-10, tail number 86-0036, was sent off in a ceremony July 13 at its last operational ...