Air Force researchers are designing an autonomous aircraft that can take down a manned plane in air-to-air combat, with the goal of pitting the two against each other in July 2021. Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, head of the Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, said the ...
U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles are the best in the world, but allied nations are barred from acquiring those systems under a 1987 voluntary non-proliferation agreement that classifies them as equivalent to nuclear weapons. Now a new report from the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies argues ...
The Air Force needs to have a sustained, uncomfortable, but important discussion about different life experiences to begin to address racial disparities across the service, the top uniformed Airmen said June 3. Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air ...
A recent defense decree by Russian president Vladimir Putin says that country can use nuclear weapons to retaliate against non-nuclear attacks—such as with hypersonic weapons or massive cyber action—if the intent is to disable Russian command and control. The statement, which laid out conditions for ...
Creating a Space National Guard could cost nearly $500 million a year, plus additional one-time costs, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found in a new analysis. CBO studied two options: one based on an existing proposal for a smaller Space National Guard, and another on ...
The Air Force identified the Airmen killed in a June 1 shooting inside a dormitory at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., as Airman 1st Class Natasha Raye Aposhian, 21, and Airman 1st Class Julian Carlos Torres, 20. Both were assigned to the 319th Reconnaissance ...
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on June 3 abruptly reversed a plan made earlier in the day to send home a portion of the Active-duty troops called to Washington to quell civil unrest in the National Capital Region, following a meeting at the White House. The ...
Military troops on June 2 continued to respond to nationwide protests over George Floyd’s death, as some lawmakers raised concerns about the prospect of sending in Active-duty service members. The death of Floyd, a black man who died in police custody May 25 after asphyxiation ...
A-10s and about 400 Airmen with the Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing recently deployed to the Middle East for ongoing operations there, and to serve as a quick reaction force if needed in Africa. The deployment is the wing’s second-largest movement ever, including ...
The Navy on June 1 awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to upgrade the F-35's Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) capabilities. The contract provides $26.7 million to engineer changes to the F-35 for the "full up" mission, presumably to add weapons and/or ...
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright will meet virtually with Airmen for two hours June 3 to discuss how the service will move forward to address racial inequality, as civil unrest continues to ...
The United States’ reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic is feeding partners’ and allies’ fears that the U.S. “is no longer willing to play a leadership role” amid international crises and opening the door for enemies and competitors, alike, to challenge its dedication, former Under Secretary ...