Air Force Gen. Anthony J. Cotton assumed command of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) in a ceremony at Offutt Air Force Base on Dec. 9, putting an Air Force general in charge of America’s nuclear forces at a time of rising nuclear threats around the globe.
The B-21 will be the centerpiece of the Air Force's long-range strike portfolio, expected to enter service in a few years and persist for decades with continuous improvements to make it capable against tough and evolving air defense threats worldwide. The B-21 is to be ...
As part of Air & Space Forces Magazine’s commemoration of the Air Force’s 75th anniversary, we interviewed all of the living former Chiefs of Staff. In this part of the series, we feature CSAF No. 12 Gen. Larry D. Welch.
The U.S. is "clearly committed" to its plans to significantly improve its missile defense of Guam, a senior defense official said, expanding on a key theme of the recently released Missile Defense Review. The U.S. territory in the Western Pacific is a major U.S. military ...
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 ...
Pledging to pursue “speed without sacrificing discipline” in the acquisition process, Gen. Duke Z. Richardson took command of Air Force Materiel Command on June 13, relieving Gen. Arnold W. Bunch Jr., who has run the service’s acquisition, research, development, logistics, and test organization since 2019. ...
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam—U.S. and Japanese pilots exchanged silent high fives from their respective cockpits during the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron's bomber task force mission to Guam. “When we're talking to any ally or partner out there, the procedures are standard—everything's the same,” said ...
Purchases of new F-35 fighters, KC-46 tankers, and C-130 transports in recent years have made only a small dent in the age of the Air Force’s fleet, down to 29.1 years across all types after hitting 30.55 years in 2020. But the service operates eight ...
If Secretary Frank Kendall and other Air Force leaders get their way, the service will be retiring older aircraft in the near future as it looks to modernize. Specifically, legacy systems such as the A-10, KC-135, F-16, and C-130H are all primed for the chopping ...
The Air Force needs to move quickly as it brings on the B-21 and modernizes the B-52 because operating four bombers at a time is not sustainable. This means the venerable B-1s and B-2s need to head to the boneyard ASAP, the service’s top planner ...
B-52s have returned to the Pacific for a bomber task force rotation during which they will take part in a large-scale, Australian-led exercise. The B-52s deployed from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., touching down at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, ...
President Joe Biden will nominate Lt. Gen. Anthony J. Cotton to take over as the next commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. If confirmed, Cotton, currently AFGSC’s deputy commander, would replace retiring Gen. Timothy M. Ray, who has led the command since 2018. Cotton, ...