The Air Force plans to select vendors by the end of 2026 to help develop concepts for cheap, attritable drones that could perform the MQ-9 Reaper mission—providing persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as strike capabilities—in a new way.
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The Air Force’s plan to start production on a new engine for the B-52H Stratofortress before conducting critical flight tests runs the risk of cost overruns and more schedule delays, government auditors said in a new report released July 31.
The Air Force’s new Collaborative Combat Aircraft may fly scores of missions over many years or only a few if commanders decide a mission is worth the risk of losing one, a top official said this week—a middle ground approach he called “optionally attritable.”
After years of struggling to get the KC-46A Pegasus an updated and improved remote vision system for aerial refueling, Air Force officials say the end of the saga is in sight.
The Air Force is preparing to move toward prototyping and testing a next-generation advanced engine and wants to be ready to integrate it onto an aircraft around 2030.
A major planned upgrade for the F-35 fighter’s engine is expected to reach a major milestone in August when it undergoes its critical design review, an Air Force official said July 27.
A second B-52H Stratofortress is now being modified with a upgraded radar for testing after the first test bomber crashed in June, and work is expected to be completed by the end of the year, officials said July 27.