The Department of the Air Force is embracing the new commercial-first approach to IT ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, outsourcing networks and other infrastructure and reducing the amount of customization required from vendors, say the chief information officers for several DAF organizations.
Technology
The program executive officers for some of the Air Force’s largest acquisition management organizations are struggling to deal with an exodus of senior talent and experienced civilian staff, three of them told an industry conference.
A B-52 equipped with the new Stratofortress radar flew Dec. 8, a key first step in modernizing the Cold War bomber.
Northrop Grumman test fired its newest solid rocket motor Dec. 4, part of an internally funded effort to rapidly design and build SRMs using advanced manufacturing techniques.
The Pentagon's list of 14 top technology priorities has been slimmed to six, to ensure they get the attention they need, Defense Research and Engineering director Emil Michael announced. Changes may be coming in authorities for funding them, as well.
An F-22 pilot controlled an MQ-20 drone from the fighter’s cockpit last month, General Atomics announced Nov. 17—a preview of the Air Force’s vision for Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
A New Kind of CCA? Meet the Supersonic X-BAT By John A. Tirpak Shield AI has entered the increasingly crowded field of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, announcing Oct. 23 its “X-BAT” vehicle that stands out from others by having both vertical takeoff...
When lawmakers and outside experts turn their attention to how the U.S. military can use of artificial intelligence, they tend to focus on weapons systems—the most consequential and risk-laden use cases—and on generative AI. But behind the scenes, the Air Force is already using machine ...
The $4.26 billion Small Business Innovation Research contracting program widely used by the Air Force went into hibernation as the government shut down Oct. 1, but unless lawmakers strike a deal on reforms, the program could reach an abrupt end.
