October 10, 1986

As the threat of Iranian-made drones grew, the Air Force rushed last year to equip F-15E Strike Eagles in the Middle East with a cheap, cost-effective way of defeating them.  The service fielded the new capability in roughly a week.

When Space Force leaders started talking about expanding the service early this year, the idea was simple: double the size of the force in the next five years. At AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber conference this week, officials detailed just how they’re planning to grow so much so quickly.

The Space Force revealed this week that it has space control weapons on orbit, but the head of U.S. Space Command said the U.S. still has “a long way to go” in improving its ability to detect and target threats in the domain. 

As the Space Force prepares to field new fleets of satellites that can track moving targets in the air and on the ground, it’s working to ensure it has the organizational structures in place to onboard and operate those systems.

When the 119th Congress took office in January 2025, it counted a record seven former Navy SEALs among its members—and just one former Air Force fighter pilot. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), a former F-15 and F-22 pilot, says that must change to help the Air Force get the resources it…