The MQ-9 Reaper is emerging as a possible contender for the Air Force's armed overwatch acquisition, a communications node in the Advanced Battle Management System network and a battlespace awareness enabler in Europe.
Friday, April 26, 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024
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Sara Sirota was an associate editor for Inside the Air Force until April 2021. Previously, she reported for The Hill and The Cazenovia Republican. She has a master's degree in security studies from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a bachelor's degree in political science from Colgate University.
The MQ-9 Reaper is emerging as a possible contender for the Air Force's armed overwatch acquisition, a communications node in the Advanced Battle Management System network and a battlespace awareness enabler in Europe.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown is considering several options to replace the service's aging fleet of E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, including Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail, he told reporters Thursday.
The Air Force is still assessing the impact of Congress' decision to cut nearly half of the fiscal year 2021 funding the service requested for the Advanced Battle Management System program but anticipates the planned on-ramp events and capability rollouts will have to slow down.
General Atomics has for the first time flown a new system on the MQ-9 Reaper that will enable the remotely piloted aircraft to use the kind of artificial intelligence and other advanced computing technologies the Air National Guard is pursuing under its Ghost Reaper project.
Sierra Nevada Corp. has filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Office against the Air Force's solicitation for a nearly $1 billion HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter upgrades contract the service is sole sourcing to Sikorsky.
The Air Force Research Laboratory released a call for proposals Monday inviting companies to participate in a new low-cost attritable aircraft program focused on reducing life-cycle and maintenance needs.
Two HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopters have arrived at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, from Eglin AFB, FL, to undergo flight test operations, the service announced in a press release earlier this week.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's new LongShot air-launched, armed drone program will consider a series of design options -- and a possible down select -- before flight testing a contractor-built prototype in fiscal year 2024 at the earliest.
The Air Force has deployed Raytheon's High-Energy Laser Weapon System 2 -- a system designed to counter drone threats -- to an unidentified combatant command base abroad for operator training and an initial performance evaluation, the service announced in a press release today.
After Congress significantly cut fiscal year 2021 funding and demanded more reviews of U.S. Special Operations Command's armed overwatch program, a three-star general is defending the organization's search for a more efficient counterinsurgency fleet and argued the Pentagon would have been ready to move forward with a procurement decision this year.
Northrop Grumman has conducted the first major design review for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program since winning the contract in September to begin developing the new intercontinental ballistic missile system.
Despite continued interest overseas, the COVID-19 pandemic is placing pressure on the foreign military sale program for Lockheed Martin's F-16 Block 70/72 variant -- slowing down negotiations with new customers and work at the new production line in South Carolina, according to multiple sources who spoke with Inside Defense.
The Air Force is not planning to revise its testing strategy for the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter program, even though the Pentagon's chief weapons tester cautioned it relies too heavily on suboptimal, contractor-led evaluations. (UPDATED)
The Air Force Research Laboratory released a notice today announcing it's launching a two-step research opportunity to work with multiple partners on directed-energy experiments.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded contracts to General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for preliminary design work supporting the new LongShot program that seeks an air-launched unmanned aerial vehicle, DARPA announced in a press release today.
The Air Force is close to signing a contract with Lockheed Martin for Lot 19 of the extended-range variants of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM-ER), but the deal will not include the long-awaited first purchase of an even newer version of the weapon right away.
The Air Force awarded Scientific Research Corp. a $95 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity deal to provide intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance support to the 16th Air Force and joint force air component commanders, according to a contract notice released Thursday.
The Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Leidos a $68.6 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to develop and test electronic warfare defenses that protect aircraft from incoming threats over the next four years, according to a Feb. 3 notice.
The Air Force Research Laboratory is evaluating the utility of directed-energy capabilities for future wars by engaging fighter pilots, weapon system officers and battle managers in a new series of virtual exercises taking place at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM.
The Air Force Research Laboratory is making progress on its vanguard programs that accelerate groundbreaking technologies through experimentation -- despite some recent testing issues in the Skyborg and Golden Horde efforts -- and is deciding which capabilities to focus on next, according to Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, AFRL's commander.