The Air Force plans to deploy four Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft to Japan this monsoon season in the second deployment of its kind.
Monday, May 6, 2024
Monday, May 6, 2024
Key Issues Budget 'parity' Summer CUAS demo EW in Ukraine
The Air Force plans to deploy four Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft to Japan this monsoon season in the second deployment of its kind.
The Air Force intends to replace the Minuteman III with an almost entirely new intercontinental ballistic missile that utilizes the existing reentry vehicles capable of delivering single and multiple nuclear warheads, according to a Jan. 23 request for information.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost to maintain and upgrade the nation's nuclear enterprise is $348 billion through 2024 as the Pentagon and Energy Department pursue new programs to recapitalize the strategic submarine, intercontinental ballistic missile and bomber forces.
The Air Force has added $45 million to the order it intends to place with Raytheon in May for an estimated 5,000 Griffin missiles, pushing the ceiling value of the anticipated five-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to $495 million for “missiles, equipment and system support.”
The Air Force plans to missionize its long-endurance Orion aircraft after the unmanned aerial vehicle broke records by flying non-stop for more than three days, almost tripling the previous endurance standard set by Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk.
The Air Force has been on a 25-year nuclear weapons "procurement holiday" and now all its bills are coming due at once, but those bills are affordable despite declining military budgets, according to a top service official.
The Air Force is readying a live-fire test of a new, more capable version of its 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator after a successful drop-test from a B-2 bomber in October, according to the Pentagon's latest annual report on weapons testing. The weapon is designed to hit hard and deeply buried targets, such as those in Iran and North Korea.
The Air Force has launched a competition to replace seven Minuteman III re-entry vehicle testing units that have been in service for more than 40 years.
The Air Force has awarded Raytheon a $21.9 million base contract for AMRAAM technical support, just weeks after the company received a $492 million contract for foreign and domestic missile production.
Just months after placing an $85 million order with Raytheon for Griffin missiles, the Air Force intends to award the company another contract worth up to $450 million for 5,000 missiles plus associated equipment and support services.
The Air Force is looking for vendors to update the structural and mechanical sustainment master plans for its HH-60G, TH-1H and UH-1N helicopters.
Air Combat Command is not backing away from an internal memo that portrays the remotely piloted aircraft enterprise as a community stretched to its limits due to the insatiable demand for unmanned surveillance and strike aircraft to support operations in the Middle East.
Pentagon comptroller Mike McCord has submitted a reprogramming request to Congress to modify and upgrade the communications equipment aboard Air Force One as well as the nuclear-hardened "Doomsday" aircraft.
Efforts to begin developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile appear to be progressing with the release of a Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent capabilities document and the announcement of two upcoming industry days.
The Air Force is exploring options for replacing the legacy radio distribution systems at its AN/USQ-163 Falconer Air Operation Centers (AOCs) -- the primary "weapon systems" or facilities used for tactical command and control of air and space operations.
Air Force Global Strike Command's top modernization priorities as the Defense Department enters the fiscal year 2016 budget cycle include replacing the Huey helicopter, Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile and Air-Launched Cruise Missile as well as B-2 and B-52 bomber upgrades, according to a top planning and requirements official.
After a tumultuous year marked by a resurgent terrorist threat and Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, Air Combat Command's largest and most eclectic unit -- the 55th Wing -- is looking to balance its heightened operational tempo against the need for full-spectrum training.
The Air Force expects to award Raytheon a follow-on production contract for AIM-120 air-combat missiles within days after recently concluding negotiations for the next three annual buys.
Modifications being applied to the MQ-9 Reaper to extend the unmanned hunter-killer aircraft's endurance include an alcohol water-injection system that boosts its performance during takeoff and climb.