JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii—Just behind the F-22 maintenance shop at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, a tall chain-link fence blocks access to a lengthy roadway leading to 13 sunshades, each standing more than 30 feet high. Their corrugated metal roofs protect both maintainers and ...
Air
The new “Splinter” camouflage on F-35s assigned to aggressor duty at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., shouldn't negate or interfere with their low observability, meaning they can truly play the role of a stealthy sparring partner for USAF fighters, according to a Nellis spokesperson. The ...
JOINT REGION MARIANAS HEADQUARTERS, Guam—New missile threats from China coupled with the strategic importance of Guam are heightening the urgency for new defensive systems to protect the island, said Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, commander of Pacific Air Forces. Guam is just a speck in the ...
The Air Force’s plans to divest a sizable chunk of its F-22 fighter fleet has run into its biggest hurdle yet, as the House Armed Services Committee’s mark of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act would prohibit any such retirements and establish a minimum fleet ...
In early June in the skies above Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., a KC-46 Pegasus from the 349th Air Refueling Squadron and a CV-22 Osprey from the 20th Special Operations Squadron came together, marking the first ever aerial refueling by a KC-46 of a CV-22 ...
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Six years ago, agile combat employment (ACE), the Air Force concept of operating at dispersed and austere bases, was a PowerPoint presentation advocated for by Pacific Air Forces leadership. Now, as the concept nears Initial Operational Capability (IOC), adding new ...
Joint bomber exercises between China and Russia in May were a sign that China supports the Russian military and the two nations have some degree of interoperability, but quick intercepts by U.S. Pacific allies were an important demonstration, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Commander Gen. Kenneth ...
After years of blocking the Air Force from retiring A-10 attack aircraft, the Senate Armed Services Committee will allow the service to proceed, but not with a new initiative to retire older F-22 Raptor air superiority jets. It also agreed to add seven more jets ...
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam—Amid 4,400 acres of jungle terrain on the northern plateau of Guam, new construction is underway to add storage for standoff munitions and to better prepare the Air Force to meet the rising threat posed by China. The new standoff weapons ...