The Weapons School Way

RTX's Pratt & Whitney got a $1.5 billion Air Force contract for three more years of sustainment of the F119 engine, which powers the F-22 Raptor. The company is also looking at capability upgrades for the engine, should they be needed.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a swift and sweeping review of the defense budget, seeking cuts worth 8 percent of total spending over the next five years that he intends to shift to fund higher-priority defense projects.

The Space Development Agency will rescind a contract for 10 satellites awarded to Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems last summer and reopen the competition, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed—though uncertainty continues to swirl around the organization. 

A workshop designed to test the Space Force’s “Competitive Endurance” theory for dealing with the likes of Russia and China exposed “unintended consequences” that will hurt the service in the long run, experts from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies said this week.

About a month after the Defense Department issued a sweeping analysis of military compensation, a new report offers several recommendations for making base pay, allowances, special pays, and performance incentives more efficient.

The Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., early Feb. 19, marking its first test of the year.

“Bamboo Eagle,” the Air Force’s new advanced combat-readiness exercise, returned for its second year in recent weeks, featuring more than 175 aircraft and 10,000 personnel from four countries for the service’s latest large-scale exercise.

The Air Force's mission capable rates declined again in fiscal 2024, indicating the service has work to do to adequately fund spares and maintenance. The F-22 fighter and B-1 bomber both were available less than half the time.

Two U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratrofortress bombers flew over the Middle East on Feb. 17 in a “force projection” demonstration, U.S. Central Command announced. The mission also included live munitions drops and fighter escorts from regional partners, according to CENTCOM.