50 Years of Space and Missiles

Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart, the first general in Air Force history to face a court-martial by jury, was found not guilty of sexual assault but convicted of other charges on June 29.

The Class of 2028 at the U.S. Air Force Academy arrived at the school for in-processing day, known as ‘I-Day’ on June 26. The appointees checked in to commence administrative records processing, receive uniforms and equipment, and take the oath of office.

The first panel in history to sit for the court-martial of an Air Force general entered deliberations June 28. Eight general officers will now consider the fate of the defendant, Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart. The former head of the 19th Air Force, which is responsible for pilot training, faces charges…

An Air Force veteran and former civilian employee was indicted this week for leaking classified information on USAF aircraft and weapons. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced the grand jury indictment of Paul J. Freeman on June 27, after Freeman had been arrested and made his initial…

A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter and a KC-46 Pegasus tanker were involved in an aerial refueling incident off the coast of the Netherlands on June 27, service officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The defense industrial base—the hundreds of companies that supply the Pentagon with everything from new fighter jets and satellites to magnets and ball bearings—is being actively targeted in cyberspace by China and other adversaries, the head of U.S. Cyber Command warned June 25. 

A new training initiative at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., is helping MQ-9 maintainers expand their specialties, essentially giving one Airman the skills of three to be able to generate sorties with minimal crews.

The F-35A mission capable rate for fiscal 2023 was 51.9 percent, or just over half the time, the Air Force reported. Officials attributed parts availability as the culprit, but the fighter’s MC rate has been declining since it peaked in 2020, and the Air Force will be spending more per…

The Air Force released the first video of a new experimental drone in flight. General Atomics’ XQ-67A is intended to prepare the service for its future fleet of autonomous collaborative combat aircraft, and the company has called the drone a “CCA prototype."