Air Force officials don’t think the loss of the stealthy RQ-170 Sentinel remotely piloted reconnaissance aircraft to Iran means a major change in the status quo of air-to-air dominance—a balance that currently swings in favor of the United States. “Any operational assessment of a potential adversary would be speculative, but we are confident in our ability to retain the initiatitive with our fifth generation fighters, our superior training, and the advanced [tactics, techniques, and procedures] that our airmen have honed over the past several decades,” Air Force spokesman Maj. Chad Steffey told the Daily Report. Further details are classified, said Steffey. (For more on this topic, see Bomber Not Derailed by Sentinel’s Loss and No ORD, Nothing to Change.)
The Senate passed its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization bill late Oct. 9 with new language restricting retirements for B-1 bombers and E-3 AWACS. Now lawmakers from the House and Senate must set about resolving the differences between their two bills, which could lead to significant changes for…
