The Space Force plans to swear in NASA Astronaut and Air Force Col. Michael S. Hopkins while he’s aboard the International Space Station as part of the upcoming Crew-1 Mission, a service official confirmed to Air Force Magazine on Oct. 29. Hopkins is slated to ...
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the commercial airline industry means Air Force pilot retention—a big problem earlier in the year—is in relatively good shape, but the service still needs to prepare for empty cockpits when the economy comes back. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. ...
Air Force airlifters are one step closer to becoming bomb trucks after the service awarded Lockheed Martin a $25 million contract to continue developing palletized munitions. The contract, awarded in August and announced this week by the company, includes a demonstration in 2021 to assess ...
The Pentagon on Oct. 29 released a strategy for military use of the electromagnetic spectrum that could ultimately spur the creation of a new combatant command to oversee those operations. The Defense Department has waged war via the electromagnetic spectrum for decades, using aircraft like ...
F-15 Eagle drivers will get upgraded ejection seats under a new $700 million contract to Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary, awarded on Oct. 29. The new ACES 5 ejection seat will replace the F-15’s older ACES II ejection seat, found in most of the ...
Air Force Global Strike Command test-launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in the predawn hours of Oct. 29, AFGSC announced. Such tests help the service ensure the Minuteman's weapon system is accurate and reliable, and yield data ...
Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 28, the Department of the Air Force announced that evening. “He took the test today after learning that a close family member, with whom he had contact, tested positive for ...
The Air Force has an inadequate understanding of China as a potential adversary, service Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. warned Oct. 28. Brown, speaking during a Hoover Institution virtual event, said that while the National Defense Strategy outlines China as a key ...
Lt. Col. Jared “Vic” Santos, 388th Fighter Wing special projects manager, recently became the first USAF Airman to accrue 1,000 flying hours in the F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, the wing announced. Santos hit the milestone during an approximately two-hour, “four-on-six tactical intercept” training sortie ...
F-15Es and Airmen from RAF Lakenheath, U.K., returned home after a six-month deployment to the Middle East where the “Bolars” flew more than 8,500 hours supporting combat operations in the region. The 492nd Fighter Squadron, supported by the 492nd Aircraft Maintenance Unit and the 48th ...
Boeing will pay another $67 million out of pocket for the KC-46 program, a cost attributed to COVID-19-related cost overruns and productivity deficiencies, though company leaders say the tanker won't be a “drag” on the company’s bottom line much longer. In a third quarter earnings ...
About 200 Airmen and four B-1s from Dyess Air Force Base's 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron began a Bomber Task Force deployment to Guam this week to back up multilateral training being hosted by Pacific Air Forces, according to a PACAF release. The Texas-based troops and ...