VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF.—Air Force Global Strike Command’s No. 2 officer said his organization is comfortable with how the next-generation land-based nuclear missile program is progressing despite having only Northrop Grumman involved in the design competition. “What we have seen so far is going ...
Technology
The F-35 fleet is safe to fly, despite an under-strength fastener problem potentially affecting nearly all F-35s, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief Ellen Lord said during a Jan. 31 press conference. A root cause analysis continues, but the Pentagon has "confidence in the integrity" of ...
New artists concepts of the B-21 Raider bomber, released Jan. 31, reveal subtle differences between it and the B-2 Spirit on which it is based. The flying wing is shallower, with a shorter cockpit area, smaller landing gear and more angled landing gear doors. The ...
Fasteners may have been installed incorrectly on all but a handful of F-35s ever built, but Lockheed Martin believes it's probably not worth it to go back and change out the wrong parts for the right ones. The fastener issue, first revealed by Pentagon acquisition ...
With two pre-solicitations, the Air Force has begun the process of buying the first eight F-15EX fighters, meant to complement the existing fleet of aging F-15C/D fighters. The new jets will have General Electric F110-129 engines, and USAF is also looking to "refresh" its F-15C/Ds ...
An Air Force-affiliated technology accelerator on Jan. 24 named the startups chosen to participate in 2020, its third group since 2018. The “Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars” program picks small businesses that offer products that can benefit troops as well as a broad swath ...
Service efforts such as the Air Force’s pitch days for rapid contract awards are just the beginning of the Pentagon's effort to move faster in its acquisition process, but much more work remains to make the five-sided building change its overall risk-averse culture, Defense Secretary ...
The XQ-58A Valkyrie drone finished its fourth flight test in Arizona on Jan. 23, coming back from a mishap that occurred during its previous test in the fall. Valkyrie, an Air Force Research Laboratory program with manufacturer Kratos Defense, is being designed as a possible ...
Military research on how to protect against threatening unmanned aircraft has so far focused on two ends of the drone spectrum—store-bought products like small quadcopters and large, advanced aircraft akin to the MQ-9 Reaper. But Evan Hunt, high-energy laser business development lead at Raytheon, argues ...
