Retired Air Force test pilot Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager land at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., after nine-day flight in experimental aircraft Voyager, the first-ever nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.