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 ...
Air Mobility Command needs to develop a force prepared for a high-end fight, advance new capabilities beyond the traditional role of the heavy aircraft, embrace the role in ferrying the joint force forward, and ensure the nation’s nuclear mission can be fueled and ready, the ...
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, ...
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., this week is hosting a first-of-its-kind air show, bringing together real demonstrations with a large virtual outreach program to encourage science, technology, engineering, and math education in southern California. The base was set to host its first on-base air show ...
KC-135 Stratotankers from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall, U.K., practiced supporting other aircraft in "Exercise Wolff Pack," a multinational event over Europe that ended Oct. 1. The three-day effort vetted the wing’s ability to deploy its aircraft to multiple places across Europe ...
More than 50 aircraft, including four different fighter types from three countries and two U.S. services, trained together in a large force exercise over the North Sea on Sept. 10. Exercise Point Blank 20-04 included U.S. Air Force F-16s from the 510th and 555th Fighter ...
Air Force B-1s and B-2s deployed to the Indo-Pacific came together to train with U.S. and Australian joint terminal attack controllers down under, dropping training bombs at three different training ranges throughout August. The B-1s, deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and B-2s deployed ...
Three USAF B-52s flew through the Baltic Sea region on Aug. 31, training with aircraft from six nations and flying over Latvia just days after a Russian aircraft reportedly violated NATO airspace to intercept another B-52. During the Aug. 31 flight, the B-52s, which are ...
Two Russian Su-27 Flankers conducted an "unsafe and unprofessional" intercept of a USAF B-52 flying over the international waters of the Black Sea on Aug. 28. The Russian pilots crossed within 100 feet of the B-52's nose "multiple times at co-altitude and while in afterburner, ...
KC-135s and Airmen from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., recently deployed to the Middle East to take over the in-theater refueling mission from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., tankers that returned home. The entire 50th Air Refueling Squadron deployed to al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on ...
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, ...