RD-180—Or Bust

Collaborative Combat Aircraft designs from Anduril and General Atomics passed their critical design reviews early in November, clearing the way for detailed production efforts to get underway, the Air Force said. How future versions will be upgraded is still under discussion.

As the Air Force completes a highly anticipated force design—its first real overhaul in a generation—the leaders overseeing the work drew a narrow distinction over how the resulting future force will be funded.

Military leaders see applications for artificial intelligence in everything from autonomous aircraft to logistics and cybersecurity. But scaling up from pilot programs to operational is proving to be a major hurdle.

When Donald Trump begins his second term as president in January, national security law experts anticipate he may return to his old habit of issuing orders to the military via social media, a practice which could cause confusion in the ranks.

Starting in January, the U.S. Air Force will start withdrawing its A-10 aircraft from Osan Air Base, South Korea, the Thunderbolt II’s last overseas location. Meanwhile, the USAF F-16s on the peninsula will continue to receive avionics upgrades as part of the Post Block Integration Team (PoBIT) program.

The Air Force’s top officer made a blunt case Nov. 13 for the service to get more funding so the nation can employ more effective airpower—and offered a preview of a coming force design to go with that funding. “I think the United States of America needs more Air Force.…

President-elect Donald Trump has said he will nominate Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality, as Secretary of Defense for Trump's second term. The choice rounds out most of the national security selections for the new administration.

The Air National Guardsman who was arrested last year for sharing hundreds of top secret and classified documents to online chatrooms was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on Nov. 12 after pleading guilty to several charges this March.

The U.S. conducted strikes against Iranian-backed groups in Syria on Nov. 12 in response to a fresh spate of attacks on American personnel, the U.S. military announced. It was the second series of strikes in two days.