The first 747-8 aircraft has begun the modification process to become a VC-25B, or the next Air Force One. The process, which began Feb. 25, will include cutting out parts of the aircraft’s skin and structure in the forward and aft lower lobes to install ...
Lawmakers are beginning to weigh how the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill could help solve the KC-46 tanker program’s woes and speed its introduction into regular operations. Congress could dictate the terms of how Boeing should fix the tanker’s faulty remote vision system and how ...
Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told Senate legislators March 3 the service will not use the new KC-46 tanker unless absolutely necessary to fight a powerful adversary. The wide-ranging Senate Armed Services Committee hearing—the first of multiple chances the Air Force has this week ...
Boeing is developing a long-range version of its Joint Direct Attack Munition called the Power JDAM, adding an engine to extend its range by 20 times over the conventional glide version of the weapon, company officials said.
Air Combat Command is shifting from a "fighter roadmap" to a "capabilities" roadmap that will capture many of the things fighters do today, but likely with new types of unmanned systems and "attritable" aircraft, Gen. Mike Holmes told reporters Feb. 27. The idea of a ...
The pressure on the aerial refueling community affects more than the iron on Air Force ramps. Total Force aircrews are part of the most stressed force element in U.S. Transportation Command, Army Gen. Stephen Lyons told the Senate Armed Services Community on Feb. 25. Lyons ...
The Air Force's X-37B reusable unmanned spaceplane is among nine nominees for the 2019 Collier Trophy, one of the aerospace field's highest honors. The Collier Trophy has been awarded for 108 years, and honors “the greatest achievement in aeronautics and astronautics in America,” the association ...
An independent review team investigating the first in-space test of Boeing’s Starliner astronaut capsule should have its review wrapped up by the end of February. Boeing and NASA are conducting the review jointly. They already plan to recheck all 1 million lines of Starliner’s software ...
The Air Force wants to retire 28 KC-10s and KC-135s, even though the KC-46 tanker is years away from operational capability. This KC-46 fleet has been plagued by problems, especially with its Remote Vision System, which links the boom operator to the refueling system. Air ...
The Air Force is working through kinks in its in-house maintenance initiative for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System as it tries to save money and time on tuning up the fleet. About a year and a half after Robins Air Force Base, ...
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF.—Air Force Global Strike Command’s No. 2 officer said his organization is comfortable with how the next-generation land-based nuclear missile program is progressing despite having only Northrop Grumman involved in the design competition. “What we have seen so far is going ...
Boeing has incurred another $148 million in losses for its KC-46 tanker program due to higher than expected manufacturing costs, as the company works with the Air Force to address continued deficiencies in the tanker’s capabilities. The company disclosed the losses in a Jan. 31 ...