September 26, 1997

September 26, 1997

Sept. 26, 1997

The Senate confirms Gen. Michael E. Ryan as the Air Force’s 16th Chief of Staff. Ryan is the first son to follow in his father’s footsteps in the Air Force’s top job. (Gen. John D. Ryan served from Aug. 1, 1969, to July 31, 1973.)

Air Force Bringing Back William Tell Weapons Meet in March

Jan. 23, 2026

Air Combat Command will hold its distinguished William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons competition in March after it was postponed last year.

Congress Trims USAF’s Nuclear Spending in ’26 Spending Package

Jan. 23, 2026

Congress moved one step closer to passing a defense budget and avoiding another government shutdown Jan. 22 as the House passed a mammoth appropriations package. The spending package includes cuts in funding for the B-21 Raider bomber and the LRSO missile.

Golden Dome Czar Charts Two-Year Plan Focused on Command and Control, Interceptors

Jan. 23, 2026

The Pentagon’s Golden Dome Director said Jan. 23 his top priorities for the advanced homeland missile defense shield over the next two years are establishing a baseline command-and-control capability and integrating interceptors into that system.

Joint Force Air Component Commanders: Demand More of Our Cyber Forces

Jan. 23, 2026

In the U.S. military, cyber capability is undeniably important to joint warfighting, but cyber is still not fully recognized as a warfighting domain, co-equal to land, sea, air, and space. It isn’t because it’s not. But the day will come when the cyber domain becomes a co-equal domain and requires…

Vice Chief: Space Force Should Be Thinking About Cislunar ‘a Lot Right Now’

Jan. 22, 2026

The Space Force’s small size has limited its capacity to consider what role it will play in future operations on and around the moon. That needs to change, according to Vice Chief of Operations Gen. Shawn Bratton.

Coming Soon to Air Force Basic Training: Mock Airfields Complete with F-16, C-130s

Jan. 22, 2026

Second Air Force officials plan to inject more realism in Basic Military Training this year by building two mock airfields where Airmen will get hands-on training with real combat aircraft.

New Deputy Directors Named for Golden Dome, Top Air Force Programs

Jan. 22, 2026

The White House nominated Army Maj. Gen. Brian W. Gibson for promotion to three-star general as the No. 2 officer in charge of the Golden Dome missile defense shield and Air Force Maj. Gen. Mark B. Pye for a similar promotion as deputy chief of major Air Force programs at the…

New ‘Bridge’ Air Force One from Qatar to Fly This Summer

Jan. 22, 2026

The Air Force has a name and expected delivery date for the Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar to the United States for presidential airlift: the “VC-25 bridge aircraft” now has an anticipated delivery no later than summer 2026.

SDA Awards First Contract to Take Old Satellites out of Orbit

Jan. 21, 2026

The Space Development Agency wants to launch hundreds of satellites into low-Earth orbit over the next few years—and thanks to a new contract, it now has a way to get rid of some when their service life is over.

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