The Next-Generation Air Dominance system—the fighter that will succeed the F-22—will have ground attack capability possibly for its own protection, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told lawmakers June 16. Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on the fiscal 2022 ...
F-35s from four nations are coming together in a large-scale exercise in Italy during which the fifth-generation fighters will fly alongside several fourth-generation jets. USAF F-35s from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and F-16s from Aviano Air Base, Italy, are flying in exercise Falcon Strike ...
The Air Force wants another dozen F-15EXs as part of its $4.2 billion unfunded priorities list it submitted to Congress this week, but the service is not asking for any additional F-35A strike fighters. The Space Force sent a separate request to the Hill, but ...
The Air Force is asking to retire 201 airplanes and buy 91 new ones in its fiscal 2022 budget request, representing a net decrease of 110 airplanes. The fighter fleet would drop by 77 aircraft, and the RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet would be cut by ...
The Air Force's fighter fleet generally saw an uptick in mission capable rates in fiscal 2020. The most dramatic improvement was the F-35's. Its rate jumped from 61.6 percent in fiscal 2019 to just over 76 percent in fiscal 2020. The F-15D's and E's MC ...
The F-35's program director promised Congress an F-35 sustainment strategy this summer, but said it's unlikely he'll achieve the elusive goal of $25,000 cost per flying hour by 2025. Negotiating three one-year sustainment deals is a "carrot" to get a better deal from Lockheed Martin ...
The Air Force’s tanker presence in the Arctic will grow, with four more KC-135s heading to a new Active component at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The KC-135s and up to 220 Active duty Airmen will head to the 168th Wing at Eielson, with aircraft ...
The House Armed Services Committee has “enormous concern” about the F-35 fighter’s sustainment, and suggested Congress may cut back on purchases of the jet to let the sustainment enterprise catch up, Readiness subcommittee chair Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) said March 19. He also said he ...
Full-rate production of the F-35 and delivery of the Block 4 upgrade will keep slipping until the simulator is fixed and the Pentagon sets some realistic timetables for software development, the Government Accountability Office reported on March 18. It recommended better automatic tools for assessing ...
A Pentagon declaration that the F-35's initial development is complete is still months away, but even when it comes, it won't trigger a surge in production of the fighter. “I don’t think you’ll see a large deviation” in production when full-rate is declared, according to ...
The head of Air Combat Command isn't sure the cost of operating the F-35 will hit the desired $25,000 per hour by 2025, and he's headed out to meetings to see what can be done to make it happen. He's also concerned that China will ...
The Air Force's new tactical aviation study will determine if a surge in F-35 production is needed in order to buy out the planned 1,763 airplanes before the 2040s. But that decision also will depend on funding, contractor capacity, and the need for complementary aircraft, ...