The Air Force plans to begin evolving its fighter fleet to one that can win a Pacific war by retiring 421 old jets and buying 304 new ones, transitioning away from the F-22 and A-10 to an advanced, sixth-generation fighter and an F-16 replacement in ...
Sharply rising support costs among aging fleets are devouring money the Air Force needs to spend on new technology and new hardware, service Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom said. The Air Force has to figure out how to divest old hardware ...
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. wants to neck down the Air Force's fighter inventory from seven fleets to four, and the F-22 is not on his short list. The extant seven-fleet mix of fighters will need to be reduced to ...
F-22s and Airmen from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, forward deployed to Japan for almost one month to train with Japanese and U.S. Marine Corps aircraft as part of a “dynamic force employment” operation. The Raptors from the Active-duty 19th Fighter Squadron and Air National ...
The Defense Department has regained some lost readiness after two decades of continuous combat, but still has more work to do, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. “Nearly two decades of conflict has degraded U.S. military readiness," wrote report author Diana ...
Regional combatant commanders are anxious to use new connectivity and artificial intelligence systems that have worked well in exercises, but are frustrated with the slow pace of introducing them, U.S. Northern Command chief Gen. Glen D. VanHerck said March 31. An exercise last week highlighted ...
An F-22 experienced an in-flight emergency and a subsequent mishap upon landing March 15 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The pilot was transported to the base’s flight medicine clinic for an evaluation immediately after landing, Eglin said in a statement. The F-22, assigned to ...
The Air Force is testing new ways to use the F-15E Strike Eagle to deliver bombs. The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron recently flew an F-15E with six Joint Direct Attack Munitions on a single side, potentially expanding the number of the bombs the aircraft ...
The Air Force is considering changes to its pilot curriculum to curb the rising number of aviation accidents across the service, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Feb. 25. The Air Force saw 72 accidents in fiscal 2020—10 more than in the ...
The Air Force’s next generation tanker is starting to go operational, but in a very limited way, with the goal of freeing up older planes for combat missions. Air Mobility Command announced Feb. 24 it is phasing the KC-46 into operations, by making it available ...
The Air Force saw 72 aviation accidents over the course of fiscal 2020—up from 62 in fiscal 2019—including an A-29 crash that partially disabled an American Airman, according to Air Force Safety Center data. Thirteen of the 72 total accidents caused injury or death. The ...
The Air Force will soon embark on a major new analysis of its tactical fighter mix, looking for the right capabilities in the high-, middle- and low-end spectrum of warfare, service Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Feb. 17. The study will ...