A KC-10 Extender took off into the dark and rainy New Jersey sky on June 30 to link up with F-22s flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Marking the end of an era for the 2nd Airlift Squadron—the Air Force’s second-oldest squadron—it was the last time ...
The Air Force has set its shopping list for the first round of Advanced Battle Management System capability acquisition and is defining the requirements for future capabilities it wants to develop and buy as this new approach to command and control progresses. At the same ...
The Air Force and Boeing are addressing two additional Category 1 deficiencies in the KC-46 in addition to the four remaining Category 1 problems involving the aircraft’s refueling system. The previously unannounced issues are with the aircraft's receptacle drain line tubes and Flight Management System, ...
Even with a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in the defense budget, losing a conflict with China still becomes a “distinct possibility" without both aircraft cuts and a fundamental change in how the Air Force structures itself for war, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles ...
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on June 16 issue a call to determine which companies could provide a “bridge tanker” to cover the gap in tanker capacity between the end of KC-46 production and development of a future refueler. The Sources Sought Announcement ...
A feature in the KC-46’s advanced refueling system, designed to improve safety and ease the burden on boom operators, is not working as designed, so the Air Force implemented a workaround. The problem is with the aircraft’s Aerial Refueling Software, which has preset limits for ...
A year after submitting its smallest military construction budget in a half-decade, the Department of the Air Force submitted a 2022 budget request that marked a return to years past—and a substantial increase overall. The 2022 figure of roughly $2.8 billion marks a 75 percent ...
The Department of the Air Force is asking for $212.8 billion in fiscal 2022, of which the Air Force gets $156.3 billion, the Space Force $17.4 billion, with the rest referred to as "pass-through" funding not controlled by the department. The budget request focuses on ...
The Air Force is again targeting its old tankers for retirement, so it can make room for new KC-46s to come online. The service's 2022 budget request looks to cut 18 KC-135s and 14 KC-10s, as it buys 14 more KC-46s. Maj. Gen. James D. ...
The Air Force is asking to retire 201 airplanes and buy 91 new ones in its fiscal 2022 budget request, representing a net decrease of 110 airplanes. The fighter fleet would drop by 77 aircraft, and the RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet would be cut by ...
The Air Force didn’t effectively oversee the development of the KC-46’s refueling boom, leading to additional delays and costs and a lingering deficiency that prevents the tanker from refueling some USAF aircraft, according to a new Pentagon watchdog report. The Defense Department Inspector General, in ...
Air Force Magazine on May 25 flew aboard a KC-46 during a refueling flight as part of Air Mobility Command’s major exercise Mobility Guardian 2021 in Michigan, the first time an independent media outlet has flown on the new tanker. The KC-46 from McConnell Air ...