Air Force officials say the service plans to purchase 141 combat search and rescue aircraft—called CSAR-X, for now—to replace its current force of 101 HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. Lt. Col. Dave Morgan, CSAR program element monitor, told reporters that USAF had released a formal request for proposal and expected to announce a contract award in May. The program is valued at $10 billion.
Air Force senior statesmen explained the reasons they jointly sent a letter to Congress urging restoration of the E-7 Wedgetail and more F-35s to the fiscal 2026 defense budget.