China’s rise, Iranian terror, and Russian belligerence point to the enduring need for deterrent airpower. Scale matters. The U.S. Air Force may not need to match China plane for plane, but it cannot continue to shrink to a shadow of its former size. Airpower is ...
Budget
With key members of Congress wavering on the possibility of a $350 billion defense reconciliation bill, defense experts told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Pentagon is likely drawing up budget backup plans—but such plans would face hard choices between high-end weapons and low-cost ...
A congressional plan to replace the special operations aircraft destroyed during the rescue of a downed F-15E aviator in Iran would take all the money the Pentagon had planned to spend on another special ops plane, the OA-1K Skyraider II.
The famed U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane could get a reprieve from the Air Force’s chopping block under a new 2027 spending bill proposed by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
As L3Harris proves its OA-1K Skyraider II special operations aircraft can carry a signals intelligence sensor and electronic attack weapon, a key congressional committee is poised to boost production of the converted Air Tractor prop plane.
The House Armed Services Committee on June 4 approved an amendment to a key defense policy bill that would bar the Air Force from retiring E-3 Sentry aircraft through fiscal 2027.
The Air Force is seeking to buy around 108 new aircraft in fiscal 2027—though really, officials wish they could get more. The issue isn’t just more money, according to the service’s No. 2 officer; contractors just aren't able to produce enough aircraft at the present ...
The Air Force plans to spend $213 million on its CV-22 fleet in fiscal 2027, about one-fifth of a $1.12 billion investment in the tiltrotor aircraft across the Pentagon.
The Air Force’s primary fighter fleet dipped below the minimum allowable size under law earlier this year—and that fact should rally a “call to action” for the nation to reinvest in its airpower, a key lawmaker said June 2.