The first B-21 bomber is conducting taxi tests at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., the service confirmed, meaning that first flight is likely fast approaching.
The Air Force is keeping its B-1 bombers credible until their retirement with new pylons, new weapons, and the use of a real-world stress test aircraft and digital twins to predict fatigue problems and address vanishing vendor issues.
All three Air Force bomber types—the B-1 Lancer, the B-2 Spirit, and the B-52 Stratofortress—gathered in Alaska from July 18-19 to practice operating from an unfamiliar airfield, a rare assembly of the trio of different aircraft and a demonstration of flexible deployment for America’s heavy-hitters.
The Air Force’s fleet may shift from fighter-heavy to bomber-heavy in the future, but not in the near term, Secretary Frank Kendall told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Accelerating production of the B-21 would require adding considerably more tooling and capacity, he added.
Ever wondered when the B-52 bomber made its first flight? What armaments are on the F-35 fighter? Just how many thousands of pounds a C-17 transport can haul? Authoritative answers are now a few clicks away. Air Force Magazine’s new Weapons & Platforms database builds ...
The first B-1B Lancers have returned to flight following a grounding more than two weeks ago to inspect issues with the aircraft’s fuel systems. Air Force Global Strike Command announced May 6 that an undisclosed number of the bombers are back to flying after the ...
With upcoming budget deliberations and an expected Nuclear Posture Review, Air Force and U.S. Strategic Command leaders are making the case that the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent is a critical program and is actually cheaper than extending the life of the aging Minuteman III. Other modernization ...
Two B-2 Spirits and two B-1B Lancers linked up near Iceland for a training mission March 16, highlighting the importance the Air Force is placing on the Arctic region. The four bombers flew a “long-range integration” in the high north, flying together off the coast ...
A B-1 Lancer assigned to the Air Force's 7th Bomb Wing supported training for foreign joint terminal attack controllers and integrated with Swedish Gripen fighters during a Bomber Task Force mission in Norway and Sweden on March 8, according to a U.S. Air Forces in ...
The Air Force may have inadvertently revealed the size of the secret B-21 bomber with the release of an image of a temporary shelter for the airplane. The service is evaluating several designs for temporary shelters for everyday use and deployment to temporary operating locations. ...
The new Bomber Task Force concept is operationally successful, and is also a hit with aircrews, whose morale has increased with the flurry of short-term visits to nontraditional bomber destinations like India and Norway, Global Strike Command chief Gen. Timothy M. Ray said Feb. 25. ...
Former Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper's transformational ideas on how to buy new systems will stay on track without him, senior service officials said Feb. 24. Digital engineering, agile software development, and open architectures will play a part in all new systems. But sticking ...