Air Force Pilots Land at the North Pole

The Air Force and industry partners have broken ground on a prototype launch silo for the service’s next-generation Sentinel nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile.

Pentagon leaders, eager to move fast and avoid pitfalls that have plagued defense acquisition in the past, are handing authorities and oversight for some of their biggest programs to officers outside the traditional structure. But the Air Force and Space Force four-stars given those responsibilities say they don’t intend their jobs to be a permanent change to the system.

Amid persistent development and testing delays, the Space Force is considering canceling a long-delayed effort to develop a ground system to manage its newest GPS satellites, a spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered chaplains to shed their officer rank insignia to make them more approachable to lower ranks—a move that has sparked a debate over why chaplains need to be viewed as officers.

The 34th Fighter Squadron won the Raytheon Trophy for its air superiority performance in 2025 in two major Middle East operations and a series of responses in the Pacific. The F-35 Lightning II squadron received the honor following its role in Operation Rough Rider targeting Houthi rebel missile sites in…