The Pentagon’s cost estimate for the Iran War has risen to $37.5 billion, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a congressional committee July 21—and without emergency supplemental funding, the military will have to “curtail” training to cover those costs, he added.
National Security
In an operational first, U.S. Transportation Command planners turned to artificial intelligence agents for help when Spain denied Air Force tankers access to its bases to support strikes on Iran.
Four American service members died over the weekend in Jordan and Iraq as a result of Iranian attacks on U.S. forces, according to U.S. Central Command.
As the U.S. war with Iran intensifies, the Pentagon is rushing more warplanes to the region, deploying Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-35 Lightning II fighters to the Middle East, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The Senate confirmed a half-dozen Air Force generals to three-star jobs July 16, including a new commander of Air Forces Central and a new superintendent for the Air Force Academy.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said July 16 that the airpower contribution of allied nations is vital for deterring adversaries and endorsed deeper interoperability between the U.S. and its partners.
Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, in his final address as the Chief of Space Operations, said that a non-political military had a vital role to play in a period of sharp partisan differences and could help steady the U.S. democracy in the years ahead.
Just over a year after becoming the 27th Secretary of the Air Force, Troy Meink believes he’s making progress on his top priorities—increasing Air Force readiness, modernizing its aircraft fleet, and growing the nascent Space Force. In a June 26 interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine, Meink acknowledged headwinds but said the proof of his progress is in the fiscal ...
Since U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich became NATO’s top military officer in July 2025, the alliance has contended with Russian drone incursions and hybrid warfare against its members and Moscow’s continued aggression in Ukraine. Now the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, a career fighter ...