The Air Force is extending its feasibility study into the use of privately owned aerial refueling tankers after an initial report determined further research is needed to understand legal and financial challenges. Last week, the Air Force delivered a Commercial Air Refueling Report to the ...
A B-1B Lancer flew a 30-hour flight to train alongside USAF and Japanese fighters on April 22, the first bomber sortie in the Pacific since the Air Force ended the continuous bomber presence mission on April 17. The B-1, from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., ...
The 493rd Fighter Squadron is the 2020 recipient of the Raytheon Trophy for the service’s top air superiority squadron, the fourth win in a row for the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England. The squadron received the award based in its performance in 2019, ...
When the Air Force needs combat aircraft to rapidly deploy, the F-15s and Airmen of the Liberty Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England, are often the first to respond. So when the new coronavirus outbreak hit the base, it required a quick and evolving response to ...
Sal Speziale studied in the halls of the U.S. Air Force Academy, flew the F-4 and F-15, and worked at the Pentagon while part of the Active duty Air Force. He later served with the District of Columbia Air National Guard, and spent over three ...
The Air Force’s depot maintenance activities continue unabated during the COVID-19 crisis, but Air Force Materiel Command is staying alert for supply chain issues that could affect throughput. “To date, no mission requirements have been impacted, and aircraft are still being inducted into the depots,” ...
The Pentagon has started a daily dialogue with its top vendors as it attempts to measure and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the defense industry. Meanwhile, Boeing and Lockheed Martin said production on major acquisition systems like the KC-46 tanker and F-35 ...
The Air Force picked the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile over the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon because it's more advanced and is a better match to the Air Force's needs, and the HCSW just didn't fit in an overcrowded budget, service acquisition chief ...
One of the Air Force’s biggest exercises in the Pacific is underway, with 2,000-plus personnel and more than 100 aircraft training together through the end of February. During Exercise Cope North—headquartered at Andersen AFB, Guam—USAF, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and Royal Australian Air Force troops ...
The draft 2020 defense policy bill prohibits the Air Force from transferring any low-rate initial production F-35 strike fighters to the adversary air role until the Chief of Staff submits a report to Congress detailing the service’s plan for modernizing its organic aggressor fleet. “It ...
A B-52 is flanked by four Saudi Arabian F-15Cs as it flies over Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 1, 2019. Air Forces Central Command Twitter video screenshot. US aircraft continued their high-profile operations in Saudi Arabia on Nov....
Syrian Democratic Forces commando cadets clear a room during urban operations training in Syria, Aug. 3, 2019. Army photo by Spc. Alec Dionne. The Pentagon is withdrawing most US troops across Syria as Turkey’s invasion across the border to fight...