Lawmakers weighed in on three of the Air Force’s top-priority technology development efforts in the final draft of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill, offering more money and more oversight as the programs mature. The Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology initiative, hypersonic weapons, and the Next-Generation ...
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager died Dec. 7, at age 97. Yeager was a World War II fighter ace and most widely remembered as the first man to fly through Mach 1—the speed of sound—in 1947. He tested numerous research aircraft ...
The Air Force has four months to figure out exactly what it wants the Advanced Battle Management System to do, as part of a proposed set of congressional oversight requirements. ABMS is the service’s sweeping effort to connect its platforms, not only as attack assets ...
A special tactics combat controller will receive the Air Force Cross on Dec. 10 for his actions in a 2017 battle in Afghanistan, where he is credited with protecting more than 150 friendly forces and destroying 11 fighting positions over the course of an eight-hour ...
Airmen and Space Professionals don't have to take their fitness assessments until April 2021 as a result of COVID-19, and the Department of the Air Force has empowered commanders to push those tests even further if necessary, according to a Dec. 7 release. When testing ...
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 ...
Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, a leading Space Force proponent, will become the top Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, his office said Dec. 3. “It’s an honor to be selected by my colleagues to lead the Republicans as Ranking Member of the House ...
Airmen at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, and Scott Air Force Base, Ill., won’t have to take official physical fitness assessments until April 1, 2021. Air Force guidance issued earlier this year authorizes commanders to make these kinds of delays, Air ...
A lack of flying hours and overworked maintainers are contributing to high rates of crashes and other aviation mishaps, according to a new Congressionally mandated report, which called on the services to quickly overhaul how they manage maintainers and pilot training. The National Commission on ...
The Strategic Airlift Capability’s Heavy Airlift Wing sprung into action early in the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver desperately needed protective equipment within weeks in what became a “defining moment” for the program, the HAW’s commander said. The 12-year-old SAC, which includes three Globemaster IIIs jointly ...
The lack of training ranges and airspace in Japan are making it difficult for U.S. aircrews to maintain readiness during the pandemic, the head of U.S. forces in Japan said. U.S. and Japanese aircraft and personnel need to leave the country for high-end training, often ...