Richard Bong Dies

DARPA’s New X-Plane: Meet the X-68A LongShot Drone

Feb. 20, 2026

The Air Force has a new X-plane: The X-68A LongShot from General Atomics is an air-launched drone intended to carry additional air-to-air munitions. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been developing LongShot since 2021, and announced on Feb. 17 that flight testing could begin “as early as the end...

Boeing Adds Production Line to Boost Space Force’s Missile Warning Push

Feb. 20, 2026

Boeing announced Feb. 20 it has opened a new production line dedicated to building electro-optical infrared sensors for the Space Force and other customers.

WATCH: Space as the Backbone of Integrated Defense

Feb. 20, 2026

Space enables integrated defense to function as a unified, resilient architecture rather than a collection of standalone systems. Jeff Schrader, Vice President of Strategy & Business Development for Lockheed Martin Space, sits down with Air & Space Forces Magazine to...

USSF Wants to Get Battle Management Tools from Lab to Operations Faster

Feb. 19, 2026

The Space Force team responsible for developing advanced battle management capabilities wants to create a better pipeline for mature space domain awareness tools to move from the lab into the hands of operators.

Northrop, Embraer Team Up to Pitch a Tactical Tanker for Dispersed Ops to USAF

Feb. 19, 2026

Contractors Northrop Grumman and Embraer are teaming up to offer the Air Force and U.S. allies a tactical mobility aircraft—designed for aerial refueling and cargo transport—to support Airmen operating from remote airfields with soft-soil airstrips, company officials said Feb. 19.

Kessel Run Launches Program for ‘Next-Gen’ Air Operations Center

Feb. 19, 2026

The Air Force’s Kessel Run software factory is launching an effort to create the “next generation” of the service's Air Operations Centers, used to command, control, and coordinate aircraft movements around the globe.

Can DOD Limit Retirees’ Speech? Hegseth-Kelly Case Could Yield Answer

Feb. 19, 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's attempt to punish Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) over a video in which the Senator and retired Navy captain advised military members they have a duty to disregard unlawful orders ran into a federal court injunction earlier this month. The case, which could still be appealed, has…

Massive Bamboo Eagle Exercise Returns, with Focus on C2 ‘Nervous System’

Feb. 18, 2026

The Air Force kicked off one of its biggest exercises this week with the latest edition of Bamboo Eagle, featuring combined virtual and live training scenarios focused on test the command-and-control “nervous system” leaders need to operate on a complex joint battlefield spread over vast distances.

New Paint Scheme for Air Force One, VIP Transport Fleet Revealed

Feb. 18, 2026

The next “Air Force One” presidential aircraft and other planes in the Air Force’s VIP transport fleet will soon have a new paint scheme—one preferred by President Trump and similar to the one painted on the president’s personal 757 aircraft.

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