The Air Force’s fleet in fiscal 2019 maintained an overall mission capable rate of 70.27 percent, a slight increase from the previous year. Although some key combat aircraft, such as the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor, which hovers just over 50 percent, sustained low capability rates, service ...
For every dollar the Air Force spends on new weapons systems, 70 cents goes to keeping them ready for action. For if, as Napoleon famously observed, an army “marches on its stomach,” then it can also be said that an air force flies on its ...
Defense Secretary Mark Esper acknowledged that heavy government spending on anti-Coronavirus efforts could suppress defense spending in coming years, and said the Pentagon will prioritize modernization programs over legacy systems if the budget flattens. There are "dozens" of legacy programs Esper said he would be ...
Lawmakers are preparing their aerospace priorities for the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill, in which the Air Force hopes to see an endorsement of its modernization-heavy, $154.6 billion budget request. One provision that could have big ripple effects for the service is a push to ...
The Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy Blue Angels soared over New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania on April 28 in two sky-high salutes to the first responders and U.S. troops on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as essential employees keeping the ...
The Air Force's future close air support portfolio will include seven squadrons of A-10s into the 2040s, along with light attack aircraft in partnership with some countries, but these efforts will be distinct from Special Operations Command's pursuit of an Armed Overwatch aircraft, USAF top ...
An A-10 pilot was uninjured when a Warthog made an emergency belly landing April 7 at Moody AFB, Ga. The A-10 from the 75th Fighter Squadron was flying a routine training mission when the pilot declared an in-flight emergency. The pilot returned to base and ...
The newest Category One deficiency on the KC-46 is the type of flaw that can be expected when a new aircraft is evaluated, and is not expected to impact the timeline, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said. The service announced this week ...
Flight testing of top-priority programs is ramping back up this week at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and other locations around the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command chief Gen. Arnold Bunch Jr. said. New procedures are balancing urgent operational needs with the safety of ...
Air Force leaders are urging members of Congress to sit down with them in a classified setting so they can better understand the service’s thinking behind its fiscal 2021 budget request, which once again attempts to retire a host of legacy platforms to free up ...
Members of Congress who've heard the Air Force's explanation of why it's trading capacity now to get connectivity later back the move, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told reporters February 27. But he expects a lot more explanation will be needed. “The risk is ...
Lawmakers on Feb. 26 signaled a harsh fight ahead over the Pentagon's plans to retire aging aircraft and shift spending from weapons systems to border wall protection. The Defense Department’s total $705.4 billion fiscal 2021 request looks to retire dozens of USAF aircraft. Defense Secretary ...