House-Senate Conferees require a larger Air Force in the final version of the fiscal 2021 defense bill, directing the service to build the 386 combat squadrons it said it needs to meet the National Defense Strategy, and specifically raising the bomber fleet to 225 aircraft, ...
The structural fatigue test of the B-1B bomber, which began in 2012 and was initially expected to take five years, will wrap up in 2021, an Air Force Materiel Command spokesman told Air Force Magazine. The test will stress the B-1 to 28,000 hours on ...
Gen. Stephen W. “Seve” Wilson retired Nov. 13 after 39 years of service, ending his tenure as the Air Force’s longest-serving vice chief of staff. Wilson, who is replaced as USAF’s No. 2 by Gen. David W. Allvin, served four years and four months in ...
Two B-52H Stratofortresses from the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., left the installation on the evening of Oct. 13, flew nonstop to Europe to train with NATO over the North Sea, and returned the next night, 2nd Bomb Wing spokesperson Capt. ...
The Air Force is moving forward with a new Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile as one of its top two hypersonic weapons programs, Weapons Program Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Heath Collins said in a recent interview. The service has discussed similar efforts underway in its hypersonic ...
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., this week is hosting a first-of-its-kind air show, bringing together real demonstrations with a large virtual outreach program to encourage science, technology, engineering, and math education in southern California. The base was set to host its first on-base air show ...
Air Force researchers in October will test whether a software version of the service’s developmental weapons swarm can make its way through a combat mission and reroute itself as conditions change. The demonstration is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Golden Horde initiative, a ...
The bomber fleet is turning in exceptional readiness and performance since it turned away from the continuous bomber presence and close air support mission, Air Force Global Strike Command chief Gen. Timothy M. Ray reported. In its new dynamic force employment role, the bomber is ...
The U.S. Air Force is leading the way within the military on adopting new technologies and adapting how it operates to be ready for “great power competition,” both with technological advancements such as the Advanced Battle Management System and new ways to deploy aircraft such ...
The Air Force still needs 220 total bombers, including about 100 new B-21s, though that target is a “living number” that can change as the Raider comes online and aging aircraft are modernized and outfitted with advanced weapons, the head of Air Force Global Strike ...
Three B-1Bs flew a long-range bomber task force mission on Sept. 10, starting from Texas and transiting through the East Siberian Sea near the Arctic before touching down at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to prepare for more missions, U.S. European Command announced. The three ...
More than 50 aircraft, including four different fighter types from three countries and two U.S. services, trained together in a large force exercise over the North Sea on Sept. 10. Exercise Point Blank 20-04 included U.S. Air Force F-16s from the 510th and 555th Fighter ...