The AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), the Air Force’s first hypersonic weapon, completed its last captive-carry test flight on a B-52 on Aug. 8. During the test, which was conducted off the coast of Southern California, the AGM-183A Instrumented Measurement Vehicle-2 transmitted telemetry and ...
Tall or small, the Air Force wants to ensure that Americans of more shapes and sizes can fit into its future aircraft. The service on Aug. 4 updated its guidance on the minimum physical size requirements used to design cockpits and aircrew flight equipment, which ...
An F-15 from Kadena Air Base, Japan, dropped an “eagle claw” at some point during a training flight Aug. 4, and the 18th Wing is looking into what caused the part to fall. The part is a C-shaped metal object that is about 7 inches ...
Three U.S. Air Force C-17s, plus another from the multinational Strategic Airlift Capability group, on Aug. 6 began carrying aid to Lebanon after a massive explosion in Beirut’s port killed at least 135 people and injured thousands more. The three Globemaster IIIs from Al Udeid ...
The Air Force Weapons School plans to start graduating its first KC-46 experts in three years under a new weapons instructor course, the service said Aug. 5. A syllabus should be approved by next June, and the school anticipates that its first cohort of KC-46 ...
Some of the Air Force’s most advanced, secretive aircraft flew together in a large-scale event this week to vet the service's methods for destroying enemy air defenses, and to see how well older planes work with more advanced airframes. The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group's ...
RAF Mildenhall, U.K., will remain open and keep its American refueling and special operations missions through the 2020s, reversing the Pentagon’s original 2015 plan to consolidate bases and infrastructure across Europe. The Pentagon last week announced broad plans to downsize the troop presence in Germany, ...
American and Israeli F-35s trained together earlier this week, in the second bilateral exercise between the two countries focusing on Joint Strike Fighter operations. The exercise, called Enduring Lightning II, “illustrates the close relationship between the air forces and military echelons and enhances the cooperation ...
Democratic senators on Aug. 4 indicated they could hold up the confirmation of Shon J. Manasco as Air Force undersecretary as recourse for the Trump administration’s decision to install a controversial official into a key Pentagon policy post without Senate approval. That standoff loomed over ...
The Air Force is trying an experiment that would take its rotary-wing pilots out of the standard Undergraduate Pilot Training program and send them through an all-helicopter course. The goal is to trim months from training, improve pilot quality and free up fixed-wing slots in ...
Eight more companies are getting the chance to join the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System, bringing the total number of participating firms to more than 50. The Air Force added ARES Security, AT&T, Centauri, Cogniac, NanoVMs, Pacific Defense, SRC, and Systematic to an open-ended ...
The U.S. and Polish militaries have agreed on a long-negotiated plan to increase the American presence in Poland, including adding a cargo hub and drones flown by the U.S. Air Force. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which the parties have not yet signed, follows last ...