Lawmakers told Pentagon leaders they want more details about how the Defense Department plans to spend the $23 billion Congress provide to support Golden Dome in last year’s reconciliation deal.
Space Force
The Space Force put Guardians on notice to purchase the service’s new physical training gear uniform by the end of January, but it isn’t ready to set a mandatory wear date for its new service dress uniform.
Airmen and Guardians preparing to take updated physical fitness assessments this year won’t be surprised by the Pentagon’s updated body composition standards that all service members will have to meet; the Air Force worked up similar standards three years ago.
For the Air Force and Space Force, an influx of additional resources could be an opportunity to accelerate a massive modernization portfolio and ramp up aircraft and satellite production, defense analysts and former officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The Air Force Historical Foundation has recognized two Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber wings among the winners of its 2025-2026 prestigious annual awards, selecting both for their part in Operation Midnight Hammer, the daring raid on Iran’s fortified nuclear weapons sites.
The Department of the Air Force announced seven new mission area-focused portfolio acquisition executives for the Air Force and Space Force, some of the department's first steps to implement Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's sweeping acquisition reforms.
United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket is slated to fly its second national security mission in February—nearly six months after its first operational launch and almost a year after it was certified to fly military payloads for the Space Force.
Airman will start being officially scored on the new physical fitness assessment in July rather than September and will have an alternative to a two-mile run to prove their cardio fitness, the Air Force announced Jan. 6.
The Air Force is promoting 640 senior master sergeants to chief master sergeant this year, about a 27 percent increase over last cycle’s numbers. The Space Force is also increasing its senior master sergeant promotions by 48 percent.
The Space Force is eyeing upgrades to launch more and bigger rockets from its western range at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., in the coming years.
The Space Force’s work to establish a pool of at-the-ready commercial satellite capacity during a crisis is moving out of the pilot phase as the service prepares to award its next batch of contracts in 2026.
The Space Force’s Space Development Agency announced $3.5 billion in contract awards to four companies to build a total of 72 missile warning and tracking satellites—the largest deal to date for its low-Earth orbit constellation.
