The Air Force is asking to retire 201 airplanes and buy 91 new ones in its fiscal 2022 budget request, representing a net decrease of 110 airplanes. The fighter fleet would drop by 77 aircraft, and the RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet would be cut by ...
As Airmen prepare for the return of physical fitness tests July 1, the Air Force released updated scoring charts May 26 to reflect the changes to those tests. As previously announced, PT tests will no longer include the controversial waist measurement as a scored component, ...
Frank Kendall III will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 25 during his confirmation hearing to be the 26th Secretary of the Air Force. Kendall would succeed Barbara M. Barrett as the head of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, ...
Brig. Gen. William H. Kale III told House appropriators May 19 to expect a “significant” improvement in military construction funding in the department’s fiscal 2022 budget request, saying key focus areas include the fielding of new nuclear capabilities and bolstering facilities in the European and ...
Uniformed Total Force Airmen and Guardians can work remotely under new guidance from the Department of the Air Force, building on lessons learned from the past year. The Air Force on May 18 released updated guidance on remote work and telework, which gives service members ...
A C-130J pilot received the Distinguished Flying Cross while a pilot and two loadmasters received Air Medals on May 10 for their actions last September, when their aircraft took enemy fire, injuring one on board and damaging the aircraft’s controls. The team returned to base, ...
The Air Force wants to scale back buys of the F-35 over the next five years, hoping to get sustainment costs down and to wait for the more capable Block 4 version, according to talking points prepared for Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown ...
The Air Force is preparing to unveil a 30-year fighter force design that calls for two new fighters—one for high-end fights and one for less demanding missions—a new way of providing close air support, and the retirement of the F-22 starting in about 2030, a ...
Suicide rates in the Air Force are starting to drop after back-to-back years of exceptionally high rates as the department enacts new policies to address the problem. There were more than 100 suicides in the Air Force in both 2019 and 2020, causing leaders to ...
The F-35A fleet is now the second largest in the Air Force’s inventory, behind the F-16 but surpassing F-15s and A-10s. There are now 283 Joint Strike Fighters in the Air Force’s arsenal, compared to 281 A-10s, 234 F-15C/Ds, and 218 F-15Es. Air Force Chief ...
A B-52H bomber launched a simulated AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response hypersonic missile at a target some 600 miles away during the ongoing Northern Edge exercise in Alaska, the Air Force said. The simulated shot was a success and demonstrated Airborne Battle Management System techniques to ...
Air Force Global Strike Command on April 20 ordered a safety stand-down of its B-1B Lancer fleet to inspect fuel system problems following an April 8 ground emergency. After the emergency at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., inspectors found a “discrepancy” with the B-1’s Augmenter ...