Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Rachel Cohen was managing editor for Inside the Air Force until January 2019. She previously covered the public health insurance marketplaces for Inside Health Policy and primary, secondary and higher education at the Frederick News-Post in Frederick County, Maryland. She graduated from American University in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in international studies and journalism.
The Air Force confirmed this week it plans to field MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft for combat in May, after the Pentagon's former director of operational test and evaluation called those Reapers operationally ineffective in his fiscal year 2016 report to Congress published Jan. 10.
The head of Lockheed Martin's Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent effort said this week the Air Force plans to have as many as two companies on contract in September, and he sees no indication the service will delay that goal, despite asking for more details on bidders' proposals, an upcoming nuclear posture review and scrutiny by the executive and legislative branches.
Teams led by General Atomics and Dynetics beat competitors at Lockheed Martin and Composite Engineering to enter the second phase of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Gremlins project, and will continue competing over the next year to build a system capable of launching and recovering unmanned aerial vehicles with a C-130.
Highlights from this week's Inside the Air Force.
Air Force Air Combat Command will host an industry day April 12 to discuss joint aspects of airborne networking, according to a Federal Business Opportunities notice posted last week.
The Air Force's top uniformed acquisition officer said this week the service will choose L3 Technologies to lead the Compass Call cross-deck effort, after the Government Accountability Office dismissed a bid protest from Bombardier March 10.
The Air Force is exploring its options to retire Boeing's F-15C/D in the late 2020s and recapitalize Lockheed Martin's F-16 with improved radar to serve in the Eagle's role, service officials told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday.
The Air Force won't limit itself to a particular acquisition strategy in future procurement efforts, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson told an industry conference Wednesday.
The week after the Pentagon unveiled its fiscal year 2017 budget amendment intended to boost near-term readiness, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein on Tuesday reiterated the Air Force needs to retain the ability to address conflict at a moment's notice.
The Air Force's top uniformed acquisition officer indicated this week that the service and White House seem to have reached an agreement on Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization requirements, and an executive steering group is meeting this week to chart the program's next steps.
The Air Force is beginning to explore its options for replacing the unarmed aircraft used to fly nuclear supervision missions under the Open Skies Treaty, expecting that the OC-135B will be in service for 80 years.
Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Air Force.
The Air Force may focus on improving intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability as the subject of its 2018 enterprise capabilities collaboration team study, according to the Air Force Research Laboratory's top planner.
The Air Force's effort to replace the EC-130H Compass Call platform is moving forward after the Government Accountability Office dismissed a formal bid protest by Bombardier March 10.
The head of Air Force Special Operations Command earlier this month elaborated on his vision to streamline the remotely piloted aircraft workforce, saying he wants to try controlling multiple aircraft with one keyboard sometime this year.
The Defense Department on Monday announced that three CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, due to arrive at Yokota Air Base in Japan this year, will now permanently deploy in fiscal year 2020.
ORLANDO, FL -- The Air Force will debut a directed-energy flight plan that sets out near-term action items to make fielding a laser weapon a reality by 2030, according to the Air Force Research Laboratory's top planner.
The Air Force in February chose another 30 enlisted airmen to undergo remotely piloted aircraft training in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, the service announced this week, as the first three enlisted RQ-4 Global Hawk operators prepare to graduate in May.
The head of U.S. Strategic Command told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday that the military's effort to combat small unmanned aerial vehicles near nuclear sites is not moving fast enough, despite added authority granted in the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.
ORLANDO, FL -- Air Force Materiel Command chief Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski said last week the federal hiring freeze enacted by President Trump and competing program needs are threatening the service's ability to stand up a program office for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent.