Thursday, April 25, 2024
The Air Force Research Laboratory is investigating the possibility of using micro remotely piloted aircraft to positively identify individual targets in a way not possible with today's unmanned aircraft, according to a lab official.
A new stockpile-management program should reduce the number of nuclear warheads needed to sustain a credible deterrent force, the top U.S. general in charge of the country's atomic arsenal said today.
The B-2 Spirit must be a standoff-capable platform as well as a penetrating bomber to meet the emerging threats of the next few decades, the general in charge of the Air Force's nuclear operations said today.
The final price tag for the next-generation Air Force tanker contract could be up to $50 billion, according to a military official.
Air Force Space Command is eyeing the fiscal year 2012 time frame to make key recommendations on the requirements for a successor for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite constellation, the command's chief tells Inside the Air Force.
The Senate Appropriations Committee intends to include a provision in its version of the fiscal year 2010 defense budget encouraging the Air Force to develop an exportable version of the Lockheed Martin F-22A fighter, according to documents obtained by Inside the Air Force.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates today continued to defend his assessment that the Joint Strike Fighter second engine program is not a worthwhile investment.
Air Force Space Command officials expect the first Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite launch to occur in the fall, according to the command's chief.
The United States needs a competitive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine program, and House appropriators will find funding for it without reducing jet purchases, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) told reporters today.
The Paris Air Show is under way in rainy Le Bourget, France. While the international media is busy coming up with conspiracy theories about why the Air Force did not bring the F-22A Raptor to the show, the staff of Inside the Air Force brings you some highlights from today's industry briefings and announcements.
The contentious back-and-forth battle between Congress and the Pentagon over the Joint Strike Fighter second engine program continued today as a House defense panel added funding for the alternative power plant in its mark-up of the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill.
The Air Force wants to move away from a sole-source acquisition strategy in developing the unmanned aircraft follow-on to the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, the service's No. 2 acquisition official said today.
The Air Force could extend the operational life spans of Defense Support Program satellites if there is a capability gap between them and the Space-Based Infrared System now that the Pentagon has canceled the Infrared Augmentation Satellite program, according to a service official.
Former Pentagon acquisition chief John Young today highlighted the MQ-4 Global Hawk program in reflecting on what he sees as a flawed Defense Department requirements mindset.
The Joint Strike Fighter ultimately will succeed, outgoing Pentagon acquisition chief John Young predicted today, even though program officials inadequately funded the prototype flyoff during the competition to build the fifth-generation fighter.
The Air Force's top general today said he sees no “obvious” reason to fold the National Nuclear Security Administration into the Defense Department.
U.S. government officials are concerned by China's selection of a bandwidth for its global positioning system satellites that is close to the United State's military frequency.
Like a number of defense programs, the future of the Air Force's Transformational Satellite Communications System, known simply as "TSAT," could be decided by the fiscal year 2010 budget, with a number of analysts speculating that it has a target on its head for cancellation.
Amid an uncertain funding future and varying levels of support on Capitol Hill, Boeing officials contended this week that roughly 1,000 jobs -- and the United States' edge in laser technology -- are at risk if the Airborne Laser program is canceled.
The Pentagon is disputing figures used by the Government Accountability Office in determining that an increase in Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter purchases would add billions of dollars in cost increases to the program's already hefty price tag.