The era of “three-day critical design reviews” of Air Force programs may be ending with the advent of digital design and development methods, Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, head of Air Force Materiel Command, told attendees at an industry conference. “This is completely transforming how we’re ...
The B-52H will be redesignated the B-52J or possibly B-52K when it gets a new radar and new engines, but the Air Force hasn’t yet decided what will constitute the new B-52 variant, according to Col. Louis Ruscetta, senior materiel leader for the program. The ...
The Air Force accomplished a second free flight of its hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, in a test off the coast of California. The test concludes the booster test phase of the program and clears it for operational testing later in 2022, ...
With a repeat of a hypersonic missile test coming up in the summer and the potential to speed up production of the B-21 Raider, the Air Force is “committed” to putting hypersonic missiles on its long-range bombers, said Lt. Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, the top ...
A USAF B-52 flew through the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on March 29, integrating with American F-22s and aircraft from nine other countries over the Middle East, U.S. Air Forces Central Command announced April 2.
The U.S. Air Force sent F-35 fighters to Germany days after a B-52 Bomber Task Force arrived in England to reassure Allies amid increasing tensions in Eastern Europe. F-15s from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., also recently deployed to Poland to augment F-15s forward-deployed ...
Four B-52s from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., deployed to RAF Fairford, U.K., on Feb. 10 for a notional three-week stay, during which they will exercise with NATO allies and partner nations. The long-planned mission is to enhance "readiness and interoperability for the controllers responsible ...
Preparing for conflict in the Pacific will require more than learning to fly fighters out of austere locations—it will also call for small bomber crews to go on quick consecutive missions at unfamiliar locations. In a "bomber agile combat employment" (BACE) exercise Dec. 6-8, two ...
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 ...
GE Aviation, which primarily makes military and commercial engines, will become the main focus of the GE conglomerate after it spins off its health care and energy businesses, the Boston, Mass.-based company announced Nov. 9. The move was spurred by a desire to focus and simplify ...
The deadline for protesting Rolls-Royce's win of the Air Force's B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, or CERP, has passed, and none have been filed with the Government Accountability Office, indicating the contract can proceed.
The Next-Generation Air Dominance Fighter is Air Combat Command’s top priority, because without it, the Air Force can’t provide the control of the air the whole military depends on to operate, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D. Kelly said. He also named a replacement ...