Nuclear modernization concerns are again on the table for fiscal 2021 defense policy negotiations, as House lawmakers raise issues about staffing, program delays, and how to use the weapons themselves. The Air Force’s three major nuclear weapon upgrade programs—the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, the Long-Range Standoff ...
Four B-52s flew directly from North Dakota to the Arctic, integrating with Norwegian F-35s and F-16s for a long-duration strategic bomber task force mission on June 3. The mission is the latest in a series of bomber flights to Europe, which have recently featured the ...
Within just four days, the Air Force sent nuclear-capable bombers on long-distance training flights to Europe and the Pacific, while B-1s flew their own long-range missions in both regions. On May 11, B-1s from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., flew from their home base to ...
A B-1B Lancer flew a 30-hour flight to train alongside USAF and Japanese fighters on April 22, the first bomber sortie in the Pacific since the Air Force ended the continuous bomber presence mission on April 17. The B-1, from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., ...
The Air Force announced April 17 it will no longer base strategic bombers outside of the continental United States, marking an end to the service's 16-year continuous bomber presence at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. But before the last bomber left the island, USAF reminded ...
The nation’s nuclear triad is working to get ahead of the new coronavirus outbreak by placing key personnel in “protective self-quarantines.” U.S. Strategic Command also is prescreening service members and depending on long-established redundancies in a community designed to operate independently, Adm. Charles Richard told ...
With the success of the first Advanced Battle Management System experiment, more commanders are starting to take notice and hoping to get in on the action. Pacific Air Forces boss Gen. Charles Q. Brown told reporters he’s been in regular conversations with ABMS Chief Architect ...
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—Col. Scott Brodeur has big plans for the Combined Space Operations Center here as he enters his last few months as commander. The CSpOC is a secretive command-and-control organization that tracks objects in space and acts as a liaison between those ...
U.S. Strategic Command simulated the possibility of nuclear conflict in Europe for Defense Secretary Mark Esper during a visit this week to Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. The exercise is part of the Pentagon’s routine slate of wargames and other events that it uses to ...
The Air Force’s decision to cut a major upgrade to the B-2 bomber’s defenses shows the military is accepting near-term risk to free up funding for future capabilities, the head of U.S. Strategic Command told lawmakers Feb. 13. The Air Force’s budget proposal winds down ...