The Air Force has set an ambitious goal for the B-52 Stratofortress: Update the aircraft for the modern battlefield so the legendary bomber can continue flying combat missions at least 100 years after its first flight. Central to the Air Force’s plan are new engines, ...
Aircraft Propulsion
The Air Force has made another investment in hypersonic aircraft, teaming up with venture capital firms to give a $60 million contract to startup Hermeus, which is looking to develop a jet that can travel at five times the speed of sound.
The Players Changed, But Digital Engineering and Modeling Is Here to Stay
More than 40 F-35s across the U.S. Air Force are currently without engines according to the most recent data, top officials told Congress on July 13. Speaking before the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces, acting Assistant Secretary of the Air ...
The Air Force’s newest rendering of the secret B-21 bomber suggests an exotic layout of cockpit windows. The image, the third released so far, offers a new oblique view of the aircraft from below its port side, suggesting a deeper keel and wider weapons bay ...
The total program cost of re-engining the B-52H fleet of 76 airplanes will be about $11 billion, a 9 percent jump over a previous estimate because of more-up-to-date data. Acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth told the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 17 ...
The Air Force is requesting limited funding for its T-7A Red Hawk next-generation trainer because of technical issues uncovered in testing, which have pushed back the full-rate production decision on the aircraft by a year. The 2022 budget request calls for $188.9 million in research, ...
The Air Force is looking beyond the venerable C-130 for tactical airlift missions, saying the airplane no longer meets its needs for a future of dispersed operating locations, which may not have a runway, service leaders told members of the House Armed Services seapower and ...
Air Education and Training Command's fixed-wing trainer aircraft saw a 17 percent improvement in their mission capable rates in fiscal 2020 over the previous year, pushed by investments in facilities, proactive parts replacement, and maintenance reorganzation, the command reported.