Some of the Air Force’s most advanced, secretive aircraft flew together in a large-scale event this week to vet the service's methods for destroying enemy air defenses, and to see how well older planes work with more advanced airframes. The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group's ...
American and Israeli F-35s trained together earlier this week, in the second bilateral exercise between the two countries focusing on Joint Strike Fighter operations. The exercise, called Enduring Lightning II, “illustrates the close relationship between the air forces and military echelons and enhances the cooperation ...
Democratic senators on Aug. 4 indicated they could hold up the confirmation of Shon J. Manasco as Air Force undersecretary as recourse for the Trump administration’s decision to install a controversial official into a key Pentagon policy post without Senate approval. That standoff loomed over ...
House lawmakers approved next year’s military funding as part of a six-part legislative package in a 217-197 vote July 31. The $1.3 trillion group of bills, known as a “minibus,” funds several areas of the federal government from the Justice Department to the Transportation Department. ...
A document justifying the Air Force's purchase of potentially $23 billion worth of F-15EX fighters from Boeing indicates the Air Force could buy even more, replacing not only the aging F-15C/D fleet but also its somewhat younger F-15E ground attack stablemate. The heavily redacted document ...
About four dozen companies are gearing up for a technology competition unlike most in the Pentagon as they vie for spots in the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System. ABMS is the Air Force’s multibillion-dollar vision for a massive network of data-processing software, cloud storage, ...
Air Combat Command on July 21 awarded three companies contracts worth up to $433.6 million to provide 5,418 annual sorties of adversary air support at five bases over the next four and a half years, a command spokesperson told Air Force Magazine. The contracts with ...
House lawmakers hammered Lockheed Martin for persistent problems in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter enterprise during a July 22 hearing, as the defense giant declined to promise it would fully reimburse the Pentagon for defective equipment files. At issue are electronic equipment logs, which act ...
A downturn in defense spending may create some “attractive” pricing on companies Lockheed Martin may want to acquire, and it has the cash to pick up some bargains, company President and Chief Executive Officer James D. Taiclet said in a second-quarter earnings call July 21. ...
While Defense Department leaders have not issued an order to draw down the number of troops in South Korea, Pentagon leaders have left the door open to the possibility that U.S. forces will leave the Korean Peninsula, though key weapons systems will remain. Defense Secretary ...
The Department of the Air Force unveiled its first-ever Arctic Strategy on July 21, with Secretary Barbara M. Barrett citing the Arctic’s increasing strategic importance as Russia builds up its military presence in the area, China looks to normalize its presence there, and melting ice ...
The Pentagon will acquire eight F-35A jets previously bound for Turkey, plus six more F-35As under an $861.7 million contract. The contract modifies a previous fixed-price award and “exercises options to procure eight Lot 14 F-35A Lightning II repositioned aircraft as a result of the ...