The manned fighter aircraft that will form the centerpiece of the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program will cost hundreds of millions of dollars per plane, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told members of Congress on April 27—but the service can reduce costs in ...
F-35
The Air Force will rely on the F-16 for the bulk of its low-end missions for nearly two more decades, deputy chief of staff for plans and programs Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom said. A decision on the sol-called MR-X which will replace the F-16 ...
“We hear a clear call from the Air Force to ‘accelerate change.’ Competition is a great way to do it,” says Gen. Frank Gorenc (Ret.). “We have an opportunity in the near-term to introduce competition through a new engine for the world’s most advanced fighter, ...
The Air Force will form a training unit from its newer Block 30/35 F-22 Raptors, reducing the jets available for combat operations—but the new AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile will help those combat jets hold onto their competitive edge, according to Lt. Gen. David S. ...
The Department of the Air Force needs its largest research and development budget ever in the face of threats from China and Russia, the lead Air Force and Space Force budget planners said. Air Force Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom and Space Force Lt. Gen. William ...
Budget compromises driven by the need to modernize two-thirds of the nuclear triad forced Air Force leaders to cut planned F-35 purchases in 2023 to just 33—15 fewer than it bought in fiscal 2022 and 27 fewer than 2021, said Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, ...
The Air Force is asking Congress to retire 150 airplanes in its fiscal 2023 budget, including 33 of its advanced F-22 fighters, but it would also hand off 100 MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft to another government agency and buy more than 82 other new ...
SECAF Frank Kendall believes the future is unmanned—mostly.
The E-7 was developed by Boeing for the export market. It’s hosted on a 737-700 airframe, and rather than a rotating radome—the iconic, flying-saucer-like feature of the E-3—the Wedgetail uses a large blade-like structure on its back, housing an active electronically scanned array radar.
F-35 simulators overcome policy and technical roadblocks to finally communicate effectively with allies' systems.
Lockheed Martin thinks its 17-plus years of demonstrations with unmanned aircraft with various degrees of autonomy will give it a leg up as the Air Force seeks to build new classes of tactical and strategic uncrewed aircraft, company aeronautics vice president Greg Ulmer said in ...
John Clark will be the new head of Lockheed Martin's famed "Skunk Works" Advanced Development Programs unit, the company announced. Clark, who was Skunk Works' head of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and unmanned aircraft programs, is a 23-year veteran of the company. He succeeds Jeff ...
