The Rise of the Deficit

The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.

The Department of the Air Force officially established the new Integrated Capabilities Office last week, completing one of the first of two dozen moves announced in February to “re-optimize" the Air and Space Forces for Great Power Competition with China. 

The Space Force is offering up to $180,000 for Guardians in some career fields to reenlist, an $80,000 increase over previous years. The move is part of a wider Department of the Air Force effort to make reenlisting easier and offer more incentives to do so.

Recent layoffs at Sightline Media Group are a blow for service members who rely on its staff for both day-to-day news and independent oversight of the military. 

In October 2022, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration Frank Calvelli released his nine “tenets” of space acquisition, meant to guide the future of the Space Force’s capabilities. His very first step: Build smaller satellites. Nearly two years later, the service has made some progress in…

Yokota Air Base will not fly its CV-22 Ospreys in a joint training exercise between U.S. and Japanese forces starting this weekend. U.S. Marine Corps and Japan Self-Defense Force Ospreys will participate in the exercise from July 28 to Aug 7.

Greece is acquiring at least 20 F-35s in a deal valued at $3.5 billion but could double that number with options. It will continue upgrading some of its F-16s but sell some off, possibly to Ukraine, and offer its French Mirage 2000s and Rafales to other countries, as well.

A high-profile crash of a B-1B Lancer at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., earlier this year destroyed the $450 million bomber and was caused by a cascading series of aircrew missteps, overlooked information, and an overall lax culture in units at the base, according to an Air Force accident investigation…

Russian and Chinese bombers were intercepted off the coast of Alaska by American and Canadian fighter jets on July 24, marking a rare case in which bombers from the increasingly aligned countries simultaneously ventured near U.S. territory. Two Russian TU-95 Bear and two Chinese H-6 strategic bombers flew into the…