The base where the F-16, the Air Force’s iconic multirole fighter jet, took its accidental first flight in 1974 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the event with two commemorative tail flashes: one for the prototype YF-16 and one for the 416th Flight Test Squadron, which ...
Northrop Grumman has received the B-21 low-rate initial production contract, which was keyed to achieving the first flight of the new bomber, which happened Nov. 10, 2023. The value of the contract may be revealed when Northrop holds its fourth quarter 2023 earnings call later ...
The new B-21 Raider bomber made its second ever confirmed test flight Jan. 17 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., just over two months after its first flight.
The B-21's first flight revealed or confirmed many details about the new bomber's shape, size, equipment, and flight controls, while continuing to keep some details hidden.
The first T-7A Red Hawk landed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Nov. 8, marking the start of the developmental flight test campaign for the two-seat jet, which is meant to replace the aging T-38 as a trainer for fighter and bomber pilots.
The Air Force conducted another test of the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) hypersonic missile on Oct. 12, but the service is once again withholding most details. The test “focused on the ARRW’s end-to-end performance,” according to an Air Force release, although that release ...
Testing Collaborative Combat Aircraft—the unmanned, autonomous aircraft that will fly alongside crewed fighters with the goal of beefing up the future Air Force fleet—will require an unprecedented integration of effort from engineers and operators, leaders of the service’s test enterprise said in a recent interview ...
The Air Force is adding ground and air test apparatus and developing new live-fly test ranges in anticipation of a more frequent and aggressive hypersonic test capacity, officials with the Air Force Test Center said.
As the B-52 fleet prepares for new engines, radar, communications, and other tech upgrades, a team of test pilots and engineers at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. wants to make the aging bomber easier for crews to operate.
A sleek, futuristic, six-rotor aircraft stood behind a red ribbon at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Sept. 25—marking the latest milestone in the Air Force’s involvement in the “electric air taxi.” The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from Joby Aviation was unveiled at ...
Boeing submitted paperwork to deliver the first T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet to the Air Force on Sept. 12, marking the latest step as the service aims to achieve initial operational capability in 2027.
The Air Force will officially take ownership of its first production-representative T-7A trainer jet “in the coming weeks” and quickly move into flight testing from contractor Boeing’s St. Louis facility, a service official said last week. After that, the first two Red Hawks will transfer out ...