Unmanned aerial vehicles are fair game for U.S. Special Operations Command’s armed overwatch platform competition, Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife told reporters on Feb. 25. However, the MQ-9 Reaper drone might not be up to the challenge in ...
Lawmakers want to quash the prospect of buying new armed overwatch planes for special operations troops or the Air Force in the next few years, as part of the final draft of the 2021 defense policy bill released this month. They seek to block SOCOM ...
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller on Nov. 18 directed the top civilian leader of special operations report directly to him instead of the previous bureaucratic chain of command. The move, which specifically states the assistant secretary of defense for low intensity conflict will report ...
House appropriators are planning to offer the Pentagon $694.6 billion for operations, personnel, and procurement, plus another $10.5 billion for military construction, in fiscal 2021. The Defense Department funding proposal is $1.3 billion higher than DOD received in fiscal 2020, but nearly $4 billion lower ...
Congress wants the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command to provide a plan on how to counter emerging threats from foreign countries while continuing to fight terrorism and fix ethics and professionalism concerns in the Command. While USSOCOM has grown to face new threats, Congress ...
Don’t expect much investment in new fleets of special-operations aircraft as the Pentagon braces for a budget crunch, the head of Air Force Special Operations Command said May 13. “We acknowledge that we are at a strategic inflection point,” Lt. Gen. Jim Slife said during ...
Multiple companies who faced off in the Air Force’s light attack experiment will again compete for a similar contract from U.S. Special Operations Command. Textron Aviation, Air Tractor, and Leidos are offering aircraft for a three-phase armed overwatch competition that ends with live-fly demonstrations in ...
The Air Force's future close air support portfolio will include seven squadrons of A-10s into the 2040s, along with light attack aircraft in partnership with some countries, but these efforts will be distinct from Special Operations Command's pursuit of an Armed Overwatch aircraft, USAF top ...
The Air Force is moving ahead with contracts for both finalists involved in its exploration of light-attack aircraft, issuing awards to both Textron’s AT-6 and Sierra Nevada Corp.’s A-29 over the past few weeks. Formal funding is the latest step in the Air Force’s light-attack ...
U.S. Special Operations Command’s armed overwatch planes eventually will replace the U-28 Draco, a small fleet of specialized and heavily used intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. James Slife said Feb. 12. Under the armed overwatch program, SOCOM ...
US Special Operations Command is moving forward with its armed overwatch plan, independent of the Air Force’s light attack experiment, inviting industry for a briefing in March on a proposal to buy an estimated 75 aircraft. The aircraft would “provide Special Operations Forces deployable and ...
A recent Air Force demonstration to share data between USAF and Navy fighter jets, Army munitions, a Navy destroyer, and more proved largely successful, paving the way for a bigger test in April. Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper and Advanced Battle Management System architect ...