Changes to the depot inspection and maintenance process for the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber resulted in one aircraft returning to service 91 days ahead of schedule, a significant improvement for the B-2 fleet, which numbers just 19 jets.
The Air Force will display full-scale models of the two competitors for Increment 1 of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program at next week's AFA Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
The Air Force will soon award study contracts for prototype engines to power Collaborative Combat Aircraft. But the service insists it is leaving the door open to a wide range of options and thrust classes.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated Aug. 30 to include responses from Martin-Baker and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The Air Force has cracked the door open to a competition for its Next-Generation Ejection Seat, four years after...
Brig. Gen. Luke C.G. Cropsey, or whoever succeeds him as the Department of the Air Force’s top acquisition official for command, control, and communications/battle management, is poised to take command of the new Air Force Information Dominance Systems Center. The service will also establish a program ...
Lt. Gen. Donna D. Shipton officially took command of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on Jan. 17, vowing to push forward on “continued investment and development to prepare for tomorrow's conflicts.” Shipton is the fifth commander of AFLCMC and first woman to lead the ...
Whether it be civilians pointing commercial laser pointers in the sky or adversaries using military-grade lasers, USAF aviators face eye damage or potentially fatal distraction. Looking to counter these threats, members of the Aircrew Laser Eye Protection Program are working to roll out “Block 3” of ...
The Department of Defense and the Army last month revived a dormant effort to build a target drone that can mimic cutting-edge adversary aircraft—and perhaps breathing new life into the Air Force’s own plans for a “Next Generation Aerial Target.”
The Air Force has ordered safety inspections for its entire fleets of KC-135 tankers, RC-135 reconnaissance planes, and WC-135 “nuke sniffers” over poorly-made tail pins, preventing aircraft from flying until they are cleared. The Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO), issued Feb. 14, affects hundreds of aircraft. ...
The Air Force awarded Boeing a $2.2 billion contract for 15 KC-46 tankers, the ninth lot of the aerial refuelers, just days after the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center acknowledged a previously undisclosed deficiency with the aircraft. The latest purchase order is roughly the ...
The Air Force is considering making aerodynamic retrofits to one of its flagship cargo planes in an effort to save on fuel and be kinder to the environment. As part of a project that has been in the works for years, the Air Force Research ...
Initial planning has begun for the retirement of the B-1 and B-2 bombers, but the game plan depends largely on progress in fielding the B-21 Raider—and on Congress—the Air Force’s bomber program executive officer said. In an Air Force bomber roadmap from 2018, the service ...