Total aircraft inventory; aircraft inventory trends; ICBM and satellite inventory; and aircraft age. Aircraft Total Active Inventory (TAI) (As of Sept. 30, 2024) ACTIVE ANG AFRC TOTAL FORCE AVG. AGE BOMBER B-1B Lancer[i] 46 0 0 46 37.40 B-2A Spirit[i]...
ANNUAL MILITARY BASIC PAY (Effective Jan. 1, 2025) GRADE 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 COMMISSIONED OFFICERS O-10 — — — — — — — — — — 225,698 225,698...
The annual defense budget is prepared by the Department of Defense, reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, and then submitted to Congress. Yet it is Congress that has the final say. The House and Senate must...
ACE Gets Real  How USAF is evolving Agile Combat Employment informed by insights from Ukraine and Israel.  By David Roza  As the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Air Command, Gen. James B. Hecker...

WORLD: Munitions

April 4, 2025
Sustained Munitions Production and Lower-Cost Designs By John A. Tirpak Munitions have long been a bill-payer in the Air Force budget—staples of warfare that, in peacetime, can be neglected or shortchanged to pay for more pressing needs—but after more than...

WORLD: Airpower

April 4, 2025
Allvin Makes the Case for More Airpower  It’s all about ‘more options for the President,’ CSAF says. By Chris Gordon Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin dialed up the intensity of his calls for “more Air Force” in...
Combat airpower requires more planes and more pilots to fly them. The U.S. Air Force is stretched thin by unrelenting rotational and contingency response demands, and its chronic pilot shortage just won’t go away. For more than a decade, the Air...

Verbatim

April 4, 2025
War Plans … “The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen. I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might...