Unlike the race to the Moon between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s, this new space race involves dozens of countries, dynamic geopolitical tensions, and technical capabilities associated with sustained presence.
UAE
Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. took a tour of the Middle East in early January, engaging with U.S. allies and visiting service members in the region, the Air Force announced. Brown and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. ...
In Sky Warden, AFSOC gains a flexible new hunter-killer.
With roots in the near-space photo reconnaissance of the U-2 Dragon Lady, space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance has become increasingly sophisticated and valuable over the past 65 years. Things will only get more interesting in the future.
It's time to fix the perception of RPA exportation.
The Air Force is sending a squadron of F-22s to the United Arab Emirates “over the next week or so,” U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. told the official UAE news agency Feb. 8. The F-22 Raptors will be tasked with helping ...
While much of the Pentagon’s stated focus in the past few months has been about pivoting away from the Middle East to strategic competition with Russia and China, “the most immediate and credible threats to the American homeland” are still coming from the Middle East, ...
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Aug. 22 activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to assist with the ongoing airlift out of Afghanistan. Tens of thousands have fled the country. The Stage 1 CRAF activation includes 18 aircraft—three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, ...
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Military Sales of Air Force systems are on pace to eclipse fiscal 2020 levels, the head of USAF's Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate said Aug. 5. Transfers have centered on F-15s, F-16s, F-35s, A-29s, and MQ-9 drones. Despite a push ...
The State Department on Nov. 10 formally approved a potential $23.37 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates, including up to 50 F-35s, 18 MQ-9s, and both air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions. The move, which is opposed by some on Capitol Hill, comes on the ...
In its 20th assessment of Chinese military power, the Pentagon said China is leading the U.S. and the world in shipbuilding, ballistic missiles, and air defenses. Its combined air and naval air forces are the third-largest in the world and the largest in the Indo-Pacific ...
The F-35A still isn’t in full production, but it’s proving its effectiveness daily.