Bombers are a better bet than standoff weapons for managing combat at long range, according to a new Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies report, released June 18. While standoff weapons are needed for key targets inside a well-fortified enemy's air defenses, only bombers can provide ...
A recent defense decree by Russian president Vladimir Putin says that country can use nuclear weapons to retaliate against non-nuclear attacks—such as with hypersonic weapons or massive cyber action—if the intent is to disable Russian command and control. The statement, which laid out conditions for ...
Twenty-five years ago this week, a pair of B-1B Lancers took off from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and circumnavigated the globe without stopping. The 36-hour and 13-minute flight covered 20,100 miles, including six aerial refuelings.
Two B-1B Lancers on May 29 flew another long-range bomber task force flight to Eastern Europe, integrating with Ukrainian fighter jets and Turkish KC-135s for the first time, as well as with multiple other allied nations. The flight of B-1s from the 28th Bomb Wing ...
The Air Force can't afford to keep the force it has and modernize it, so it must choose new technology over force structure, Brig. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, acting director of the Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability, said May 27. Modernization was put off too ...
The Air Force’s fledgling Rapid Sustainment Office plans to triple the number of aircraft using predictive maintenance algorithms in 2020, the service told Air Force Magazine. The Conditions-Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+) program, which started last year, and related initiatives use sensors and algorithms to collect ...
The Air Force wants to add more Airmen for space, sensing, command and control, and logistics, if upcoming military budgets let the service grow, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen “Seve” Wilson said May 20. Wilson also said plans for a larger bomber force will ...
B-1Bs from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., integrated with Swedish Gripens for the first time during a long-distance bomber task force sortie to Europe that included fighter jets from multiple allied countries. The two B-1s, supported by a U.S. Air Force KC-135 from RAF Mildenhall, ...
The Air Force’s fleet in fiscal 2019 maintained an overall mission capable rate of 70.27 percent, a slight increase from the previous year. Although some key combat aircraft, such as the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor, which hovers just over 50 percent, sustained low capability rates, service ...
Within just four days, the Air Force sent nuclear-capable bombers on long-distance training flights to Europe and the Pacific, while B-1s flew their own long-range missions in both regions. On May 11, B-1s from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., flew from their home base to ...
Defense Secretary Mark Esper acknowledged that heavy government spending on anti-Coronavirus efforts could suppress defense spending in coming years, and said the Pentagon will prioritize modernization programs over legacy systems if the budget flattens. There are "dozens" of legacy programs Esper said he would be ...
Two B-1Bs flew directly from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., to train with NATO forces in Estonia on May 5, the latest long-distance training mission for the bombers. The Lancers worked with forces on the ground from Estonia, the United Kingdom, and Denmark as part ...