Pratt & Whitney and the F-35 Joint Program Office have completed the preliminary design review of the Engine Core Upgrade of the fighter’s F135 engine, the company said this week, adding that the ECU is “on schedule and exceeding expectations.” Pratt is a subsidiary of ...
Operational Imperatives
As the Department of the Air Force and the broader Pentagon plan out billions of dollars in spending to upgrade and modernize nuclear command, control, and communications, there are natural opportunities to build on work already done for the sweeping joint all-domain command and control ...
More than 90 brand-new F-35s, many in storage since last fall, can be delivered now that a “truncated” version of the Tech Refresh 3 software has been approved for use.
Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, head of Air Combat Command, wants to keep the 32 F-22 Block 20 Raptors the Air Force has been trying to divest, saying that even without upgrades, they’d be valuable in a fight.
Nearly 20 Air Force brigadier generals have been nominated to pin on second stars, the Pentagon announced July 10, including the service’s acquisition czar for C3 and battle management and the head of a new office created to oversee the modernization of the Air Force’s ...
The Air Force will likely award a contract or contracts for the first increment of Collaborative Combat Aircraft in late September or early October, sources familiar with the program said. It’s not yet been decided if the Air Force will carry one or both of ...
The Air Force expects to start test-flying the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile starting this fall, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Tests will iterate the design and continue until 2027, at which point HACM will transition to a major defense program ...
Initial operational capability for the B-52J—the new designation for the bomber after extensive re-engining and upgrade programs—won’t be achieved until 2033. The three-year delay is due to issues both with its new engines and new radar, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report.
The Senate Armed Services Committee finished its markup of the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization bill on June 14, with mandates on more than a dozen aircraft or related programs and a keen interest in the future of the Air Force fighter fleet.