The Air Force cannot afford its three marquee air combat and mobility programs simultaneously, but should be given the resources to do so, Secretary Frank Kendall said.
The blue ribbon panel that is set to determine the fate of the Air Force’s future manned fighter will provide its recommendations by the end of the year, the service’s top officer said Oct. 25.
The Air Force is working on a sweeping force structure review mandated by Congress and reconsidering its approach for the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter. Key to both, however, could be another question: just how large will the service’s B-21 bomber fleet be? During an Oct. 24 earnings ...
In the race to field the first sixth-generation fighter, the U.S. Navy is pressing ahead as the Air Force pauses its program amid concern that it's too expensive and might not be the best answer to emerging threats.
The Air Force is hoping to slash the cost of the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter from hundreds of millions per copy to less than $80 million, secretary Frank Kendall said. It might be done by disaggregating the fighter’s functions and possibly making it uncrewed.
The Air Force’s top acquisition official said Sept. 16 that longstanding plans to replace the KC-135 Stratotanker refueling jet with a similar airframe hinge on the progress of the service’s search for a more futuristic tanker.
The Air Force is reconsidering how it gains air superiority—and whether it needs a manned sixth-generation fighter to achieve it, acquisition boss Andrew P. Hunter said.
New, classified sensors for the F-22 are being tested successfully, a service official said, making the Raptor's 2030 retirement increasingly less likely.
Advances in artificial intelligence and software development will be key to two of the Air Force’s top programs: the DAF Battle Network, which connects sensors and shooters around the globe, and Collaborative Combat Aircraft autonomous drones, service acquisition executive Andrew Hunter said Aug. 7
The Air Force will "pause" the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program while it evaluates whether it meets the Air Force’s needs and budgetary requirements, Secretary Frank Kendall said July 30. The advanced fighter was originally supposed to enter service around 2030.
Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, head of Air Combat Command, wants to keep the 32 F-22 Block 20 Raptors the Air Force has been trying to divest, saying that even without upgrades, they’d be valuable in a fight.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin didn't offer certain support for the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter at a June 13 Air & Space Forces Association event, saying the future air superiority platform is merely one choice among many the service will ...