Congress has backed off on requiring the Space Force to adopt naval ranks, allowing the new service to choose its own military rank system and a name for its members. Former Navy SEAL Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) earlier this year floated the idea of calling ...
As the final days of 2020 count down, House and Senate negotiators have agreed on sweeping defense policy legislation that offers nearly $732 billion to the armed forces in fiscal 2021. “The FY21 NDAA focuses on maintaining the strength of our defense enterprise as our ...
The Space Force’s top general this week indicated the Air Force will create an organization to offer aircraft and other resources in support of U.S. Space Command. “All the services will have a service component, because this isn't space for space's sake,” Chief of Space ...
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center—which recently treated President Donald J. Trump after he contracted the new coronavirus disease—told Air Force Magazine it is poised to handle the surge predicted to grip the nation this ...
Ten USAF and Navy aircraft types trained together in a large force event on Nov. 17, which included testing several new technologies and capabilities aimed at degraded communications and contested environments. Large Force Test Event 20.03 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., featured the F-35, ...
The Senate Appropriations Committee wants to keep a closer eye on the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program. Lawmakers added multiple provisions to the committee’s version of the fiscal 2021 defense spending bill that call for more reports on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, as well ...
About 80 aircraft have come together for Checkered Flag 21-1—a large-scale, air-to-air exercise off the coast of Florida. The exercise, which focuses on integrating fourth- and fifth-generation fighters in several scenarios, runs until Nov. 14 at Tyndall Air Force Base. Participating aircraft include Tyndall’s F-22s ...
The Pentagon on Oct. 29 added a new top leadership position to oversee space-related combat policy across the department, as required by lawmakers in the 2020 defense policy bill. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy will report to the Undersecretary of Defense for ...
For nearly 250 years, the U.S. military has designed its machines, career paths, and uniforms through a male lens. Now, the Space Force has a chance to make history as the only military branch built with women in mind from the start. Female service members ...
The Space Force on Oct. 21 formally stood up its Space Operations Command, the largest organization to run satellites, radars, and other combat assets for regional military commanders around the world. Lt. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting will run SpOC at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. ...
The F-15E Strike Eagle can now carry the Small Diameter Bomb II in combat, after software faults and other problems repeatedly delayed the program for years. Air Combat Command approved Raytheon Technologies’ air-launched, precision-guided munition, also known as StormBreaker, for use on Sept. 23. The F-15E ...
Wireless networking initiatives are spreading across the Defense Department as the military embraces 5G technology. On Oct. 8, the Pentagon awarded $600 million in contracts to several companies that will test out uses of fifth-generation wireless networks at military installations nationwide. Those projects advance alongside ...