Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91 By Tobias Naegele Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died...
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Compromise Defense Bill Adds Funds for Fighters, E-7 By Greg Hadley Congress is looking to add $900 million to save the E-7 airborne early warning and control aircraft from cancellation and $500 million aircraft from cancellation and $500 million to address...
Space Force Looks Beyond Earth’s Orbits By Courtney Albon The Space Force’s small size has limited its capacity to consider what role it will play in future operations on and around the moon. That needs to change, according to Vice...
Trump Promises a $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget What a 50% Spending Boost Might Mean for the Air Force and Space Force. By Courtney Albon President Donald Trump was so impressed with the military’s successful Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela Jan. 3...
How a rogue planning cell engineered the most decisive air war in modern history. When the exercise “Internal” Look kicked off at a mock command center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in July 1990 no one knew quite how...
Golden Dome is one of the most ambitious defense projects ever mounted. It seeks to develop a missile defense shield for the entire continental United States (CONUS) against ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missile threats and to defend against air and UAV threats. To be an ...
A New Kind of CCA? Meet the Supersonic X-BAT By John A. Tirpak Shield AI has entered the increasingly crowded field of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, announcing Oct. 23 its “X-BAT” vehicle that stands out from others by having both vertical takeoff...
Reflections on a 39-year career. Gen. David W. Allvin completed two years as Chief of Staff, half the statutory tour length, but long enough, he says, to have made a mark on the Air Force. “We can’t always pick...
Wilsbach Is Air Force’s 24th Chief of Staff By Greg Hadley Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach was confirmed as the 24th Air Force Chief of Staff Oct. 30 by unanimous consent. Shortly before, his predecessor, Gen. David W. Allvin, was “clapped”...
New Religious Accommodation Rules for Beards By Matthew Cox Armen, Guardians, and other service members that wear beards for religious reasons will be deemed nondeployable as part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sweeping crackdown on shaving waivers—a move that would...
Long-Range Drones Target Battlefield Delivery By Greg Hadley A new startup has a contract with the Air Force’s innovation arm and a prototype to test its new concept: a network of “flying pickup truck” drones to solve the problem of...
Spain Takes Charge at ACC By Chris Gordon Gen. Adrian L. Spain succeeded Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach Aug. 11, marking his ascension to the four-star ranks at one of the Air Force’s largest and most far-reaching commands. In a ceremony...

