A readiness task force spanning several major Air Force organizations is looking at new ways to measure fleet readiness other than the controversial mission-capable rate. After trying and largely failing to get certain fighter jet fleets to reach 80 percent mission-capable, or ready to enter ...
The Air Force’s fleet in fiscal 2019 maintained an overall mission capable rate of 70.27 percent, a slight increase from the previous year. Although some key combat aircraft, such as the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor, which hovers just over 50 percent, sustained low capability rates, service ...
An F-22 from the 43rd Fighter Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., crashed the morning of May 15 just north of the base. The pilot safely ejected and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. The F-22, assigned to the 325th Fighter Wing, was ...
When rows and rows of aircraft, 35 in total, lined up for the largest display of airpower in recent years at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, they had two audiences in mind: the Airmen on the ground that made it happen, and most importantly, those who ...
The Air Force inspector general is conducting a sweeping review of the service’s readiness assessments and reporting, the year after a Pentagon-wide order directed the armed forces to improve the state of key fighter fleets, according to the service’s presumptive next Chief of Staff. Air ...
Northrop Grumman will test a system that will allow fourth- and fifth-generation fighters to talk to each other, as well as “attritable” aircraft, during the next iteration of the Advanced Battle Management System experiment. The system could also be applied to the KC-46 tanker.
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, ...
F-22s, supported by a KC-135 Stratotanker and an E-3 Sentry, intercepted two Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft near Alaska on April 8, the latest in a series of similar incidents in the region. The Raptors intercepted the Russian propeller-driven planes in the Bering Sea, north ...
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,” ...
U.S. Air Force F-22s and Canadian CF-18s intercepted two Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft north of Alaska on March 9, North American Aerospace Defense Command announced. The fighters, which were supported by an E-3 Sentry AWACS and a KC-135 Stratotanker, escorted the Russian aircraft for ...
Things are starting to look up at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. It’s been 17 months since Category 5 Hurricane Michael flattened the Florida Panhandle installation that is home to F-22s and about 4,000 people. Restoring the base to a new-and-improved condition over the next ...
With the success of the first Advanced Battle Management System experiment, more commanders are starting to take notice and hoping to get in on the action. Pacific Air Forces boss Gen. Charles Q. Brown told reporters he’s been in regular conversations with ABMS Chief Architect ...