John Stillion

The Air Force has finished modifying and testing the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft that will serve as a temporary Air Force One, the service announced May 1. All that’s left now is to finish painting the jet before it starts flying this summer.

The Air Force wants to replace at least some of the aircraft it has lost during Operation Epic Fury against Iran through a supplemental budget request to Congress, Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach indicated April 30.

The Air Force plans to finalize an acquisition strategy for its new Looking Glass nuclear command, control, and communications program by September—part of a prelude to a significant increase in the service’s NC3 spending in the coming years. 

U.S. Special Operations Command is shifting its aviation plans to favor more drone swarms and fewer militarized crop-dusters, according to its fiscal 2027 budget request. 

New bipartisan legislation would let the Air Force offer more aviators bigger bonuses—plus other incentives, including a new “career intermission” program—to remain in the service.

A new bipartisan bill would increase the minimum number of fighter jets the Air Force must keep and give service leaders more flexibility to buy additional jets.

For 2027, so-called “pass through” accounts—money that funds other agencies and is never actually touched or used by the Air Force—will top $52.3 billion. That's 13.4 percent of the total department spending plan. But proportionally, that $52.3 billion accounts for a smaller share than in past years, when it has ...

The Department of the Air Force wants to launch a construction boom with its fiscal 2027 budget, more than doubling its request over 2026, according to budget documents.

The Air Force achieved its goal of recruiting 32,750 Active-Duty enlisted Airmen for 2026 five months ahead of schedule, military officials said this week—its biggest recruiting year in more than two decades.

The White House nominated Maj. Gen. Christopher J. Niemi for a third star to head a revamped A5/7 directorate and become the Air Force's first Chief Modernization Officer.

The Air Force is emphasizing operations and maintenance and research and development. The Army and Navy plan buying sprees. The Space Force budget is approaching—and may yet surpass—that of the the Marine Corps. And non-service “Defense-Wide” funding got the biggest bump of all. 

The U.S. Air Force Academy took another step toward emerging from a senior leader shakeup this week with the selection of a new commandant of cadets—though it is still unclear who will be the Academy’s next superintendent with the impending retirement of Lt. Gen. Tony ...

Based on its current modernization trajectory, the U.S. Air Force would not be able to repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2035 or launch strategic attacks in the ensuing conflict, according to analysis of a new unclassified wargame.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed “a historic military victory” after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire late April 7, even as he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said American forces will remain “ready” to resume operations should the ceasefire expire without a longer peace deal. 

The Air Force is asking for nearly $1 billion in fiscal 2027 to start buying Collaborative Combat Aircraft in earnest, as a production decision on which semi-autonomous drones to buy looms.