2024 USAF & USSF Almanac: Air Force Wings

Lockheed Gets $180 Million to Convert Three F-35 Jets to Test Aircraft

April 21, 2025

Lockheed Martin has received a $180 million contract modification to convert three production-version jets to flight sciences test aircraft, in order to bolster the F-35 test force and ensure no future delays, the Pentagon announced.

NGAD Images Doctored to Hide Most, If Not All, True Design Features

April 18, 2025

As with previous stealth aircraft unveilings, the Air Force’s imagery of the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter has been doctored to keep adversaries guessing about its true shaping and design philosophy.

Maryland Guard A-10s Still Flying in ‘Combat Readiness’ Exercise

April 17, 2025

The Maryland Air National Guard may be starting to say goodbye to its A-10 “Warthogs,” but it is not slowing down in the meantime, as it recently wrapped up a 11-day “combat readiness” exercise along the East Coast to prepare some of its Airmen for a planned deployment to the…

Air Guardsmen Pull Off ‘Remarkable’ Antarctica Rescue

April 17, 2025

A pair of Wyoming Air National Guardsmen and a flight crew from the New York Air National Guard played a crucial role in a dramatic rescue earlier this year when they helped save the life of a man suffering from a heart attack in Antarctica, one of the most remote…

Air Force Tests Out New Air-to-Air Training in Europe Focused on Drones

April 17, 2025

U.S. Air Forces in Europe is using one of its premier F-16 squadrons to develop and practice new tactics and weapons to counter drones. The exercise stems from the service’s experience in the Middle East, fighting off Iranian and Houthi attacks.

Air Force Seeking ‘Emerging Technologies’ for E-7 Wedgetail—or Successors

April 16, 2025

The Air Force is still a few years away from getting its hands on its first E-7 aircraft for airborne early warning and control, but the service is already seeking industry input on new systems to either enhance or replace the sensor capabilities of the Wedgetail—or possibly even acquire new…

B-1s Deploy to Misawa for First Ever Bomber Task Force Based in Japan

April 16, 2025

B-1Bs have landed at Misawa Air Base for the Air Force’s first ever Bomber Task Force rotation based in Japan, Pacific Air Forces and Air Force Global Strike Command confirmed.

B-1 Bombers Jet to South Korea for Training, Flyover

April 15, 2025

B-1Bs from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, flew over South Korea with U.S. and Korean fighters on April 15, adding to the already robust USAF bomber presence in the Indo-Pacific.

F-35 Cues Ground Artillery in ‘Minutes’ with New Data Gateway at Major NATO Exercise

April 15, 2025

F-35s passed targeting information to ground artillery in a demonstration of a new open-systems communications gateway, during the recent Ramstein Flag 2025 exercise, Lockheed Martin said. It’s the first time the secure system has been demonstrated outside the U.S.

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