Congress threw its support behind the Pentagon’s effort to design new hypersonic weapons and fully funded the Air Force’s two high-speed missile programs in the fiscal 2020 defense policy and spending bills. Lawmakers want the military to speed up testing and development of hypersonic capabilities, ...
Four members of the al-Shabab terror group were killed in three airstrikes in Somalia on Dec. 29, according to US Africa Command. The US military conducted a total of five strikes against al-Shabab in Somalia in December, killing six militants.
The Air Force has kicked off its exercise and development of joint, all domain command and control and is expecting the initiative to start in earnest with $185 million in funding. The service recently trained for the first time with its new Advanced Battle Management ...
President Donald Trump on Dec. 20 established the US Space Force as America’s sixth military service, one of the most significant changes in Air Force history and a milestone in America’s exploration and militarization of the cosmos. The Space Force is the Pentagon’s first branch ...
Atlanta-based Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp. on Dec. 19 received an $85 million contract for the Air Force's "Golden Horde" project that aims to show weapons can work together in self-directed swarms. The demonstration is one of AFRL's initial "vanguard" programs that will pull resources ...
The UH-1N Huey replacement helicopter officially has a name—the MH-139A Grey Wolf. Air Force Global Strike Command unveiled the name during a Dec. 19 ceremony at Duke Field, Fla. This is Global Strike’s first aircraft acquisition, since its bombers were purchased before the organization stood ...
Congressional authorizers want to restrict Air Force funding until the service provides more information on its effort to replace the B-52’s engines. But the joint fiscal 2020 defense policy bill would withhold 25 percent of the Air Force’s total 2020 money until USAF Secretary Barbara ...
Air Mobility Command officials recently met with more than a dozen companies to figure out how the Air Force could use privately owned refueling aircraft to take on certain missions, freeing up USAF tankers for more training and operations. The command on Dec. 17 brought ...
Operation Christmas Drop, Pacific Air Forces’ trademark yearly training mission that brings humanitarian aid to dozens of islands throughout the region, delivered supplies for 20,000 people in 2019. The week-and-a-half-long exercise included airdropping 176 bundles totaling more than 70,000 pounds of cargo to residents of ...
The Air Force's 402nd Software Engineering Group on Dec. 10 received the 2019 Rear Adm. Grace M. Hopper Award for Software Maintenance Excellence at the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards in Spokane, Wash., according to a Dec. 16 Air Force release. This was the first ...
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Director Steven Walker is stepping down from his position and heading to industry, the organization announced Dec. 17. Walker has led the agency since November 2017, having previously served as the agency’s acting director and deputy director.
The Air Force Research Laboratory recently conducted a successful test of a next-generation, customizable remotely piloted aircraft, flying the drone for about two and a half days earlier this month. The Ultra Long Endurance Aircraft Platform, known as Ultra LEAP, is a commercial airframe converted ...