RAF Mildenhall, U.K., will remain open and keep its American refueling and special operations missions through the 2020s, reversing the Pentagon’s original 2015 plan to consolidate bases and infrastructure across Europe. The Pentagon last week announced broad plans to downsize the troop presence in Germany, ...
military aircraft
American and Israeli F-35s trained together earlier this week, in the second bilateral exercise between the two countries focusing on Joint Strike Fighter operations. The exercise, called Enduring Lightning II, “illustrates the close relationship between the air forces and military echelons and enhances the cooperation ...
Democratic senators on Aug. 4 indicated they could hold up the confirmation of Shon J. Manasco as Air Force undersecretary as recourse for the Trump administration’s decision to install a controversial official into a key Pentagon policy post without Senate approval. That standoff loomed over ...
The Air Force is trying an experiment that would take its rotary-wing pilots out of the standard Undergraduate Pilot Training program and send them through an all-helicopter course. The goal is to trim months from training, improve pilot quality and free up fixed-wing slots in ...
Eight more companies are getting the chance to join the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System, bringing the total number of participating firms to more than 50. The Air Force added ARES Security, AT&T, Centauri, Cogniac, NanoVMs, Pacific Defense, SRC, and Systematic to an open-ended ...
The U.S. and Polish militaries have agreed on a long-negotiated plan to increase the American presence in Poland, including adding a cargo hub and drones flown by the U.S. Air Force. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which the parties have not yet signed, follows last ...
U.S. Air Force jets and Navy ships on Aug. 2 held a joint training exercise in the Black Sea near Russia’s borders together for the second time in two weeks, aiming to fine-tune their collaboration in a potential conflict. Four F-16s from the 31st Fighter ...
U.S. European Command boss Gen. Tod D. Wolters issued a memo explaining the strategic rationale behind the Pentagon's proposed posture shift within the European theater, and cautioned that any moves will take time to implement. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said July 29 the U.S. ...
Russia purportedly intercepted a U.S. Air Force RC-135 surveillance plane and a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft over the Black Sea on July 30. Neither American aircraft crossed the Russian border, noted the post, which included a 36-second video that appeared to depict ...
A document justifying the Air Force's purchase of potentially $23 billion worth of F-15EX fighters from Boeing indicates the Air Force could buy even more, replacing not only the aging F-15C/D fleet but also its somewhat younger F-15E ground attack stablemate. The heavily redacted document ...
Boeing must pay another $151 million out of pocket for the KC-46 program, the company announced in an earnings call July 29. This time, the company incurred the extra cost because the coronavirus pandemic is slamming the aerospace industry. Parts and work for the new ...
The Pentagon will begin to wind down the U.S. military presence at Germany's Spangdahlem Air Base, pulling out Air Force F-16s and canceling plans to move tankers and special-operations forces to the European hub, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper announced July 29. The decision marks ...
