50 Years of Space and Missiles

The Space Force operates satellites that can peer hundreds of miles to observe threats like missile launches on Earth to other spacecraft in orbit. Now, one of the service’s acquisition arms wants to make sure USSF satellites can keep track of dangers right next or on board them. 

U.S. Air Force F-35s and Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18s conducted combat air patrols in response to Russian military aircraft operating in the Arctic earlier this week, North American Aerospace Defense Command said Jan. 30. NORAD also said it sent two U.S. Air Force F-16s from Alaska to Greenland

The U.S. Air Force carried out deportation flights to Ecuador and Guatemala earlier this week, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine, as the Pentagon continues to fly migrants out of the country at the direction of President Donald Trump. U.S. aircrews participating in the deportation missions have included…

Lockheed Martin will deliver up to 190 F-35s in 2025, including both newly built aircraft and jets that have been in storage, company president and CEO Jim Taiclet said this week. Taiclet also said Lockheed is taking more than $1.9 billion in charges on two secret programs, at least one…

The Air Force’s various “Athena” programs focused on women’s readiness issues have shut down as the service conducts a review to follow President Donald Trump’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Airmen will be subject to new uniform, grooming, and appearance standards starting Feb. 1, senior Air Force leaders announced Jan. 29.

GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney received matching $3.5 billion contracts to prototype their versions of the Next-Generation Adaptive Propulsion engine this week, and the CEO of Pratt’s parent company, RTX, said things are looking up for the military engine business, even if the platform that could use NGAP is…

An F-35 crashed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, on Jan. 28, with videos showing the fighter tumbling to the ground as the pilot drifts on a parachute.

The Air Force now believes a single manned fighter can control a larger number of drones than previously thought, and can do so using less-sophisticated autonomous technology, according to USAF's director of force design.