The dramatic and sprawling two-day operation to save the crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran on April 3 involved hundreds of personnel, dozens of aircraft—and multiple close calls.
Air
The Air Force is asking for nearly $1 billion in fiscal 2027 to start buying Collaborative Combat Aircraft in earnest, as a production decision on which semi-autonomous drones to buy looms.
More than a dozen Airmen with the 92nd Air Refueling Wing received decorations for “flying complex and dangerous missions in contested airspace,” the Washington-based unit announced April 1. The 15 airmen were honored for providing critical refueling that enabled other Air Force aircraft to continue ...
For weeks, Operation Epic Fury showcased the breathtaking reach, precision, and persistence of American air and space power: more than 13,000 combat sorties and more than 12,300 targets struck by April 1. But numbers do not tell the most important story. What is truly important ...
The second crew member of the Air Force F-15E shot down April 3 has been rescued from Iran. U.S. forces recovered the aviator alive and all American forces involved in the operation are believed to be safe, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The Pentagon is requesting funds to buy 85 F-35s in its 2027 budget, 38 of them for the Air Force, a number that analysts say is not enough to reverse service’s fighter shortfall.
The Pentagon's research labs are ramping up their search for munitions that can be mass-produced—an effort likely to be buoyed by billions of dollars in the department's new fiscal 2027 budget request and tens of billions in the upcoming years. While the topline information shared ...
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran, sparking a massive combat search and rescue effort April 3, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine. Meanwhile, a U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft was also ...
B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked a new first in Operation Epic Fury when some of the BUFFs flew over Iran carrying JDAM-guided gravity bombs, according to people familiar with the matter. The development signals a weakening of Iranian air defenses and a new use for the ...