The Air Force and Raytheon have finalized a $272 million deal for the sixth production lot of the Small Diameter Bomb II -- a precision-guided weapon designed to strike moving targets in all weather conditions.
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 Air Force and Raytheon have finalized a $272 million deal for the sixth production lot of the Small Diameter Bomb II -- a precision-guided weapon designed to strike moving targets in all weather conditions.
The Air Force is looking to integrate the MQ-9 Reaper with a new open mission system computer called Stellar Relay that could strengthen the unmanned aircraft's utility for joint all-domain command and control as its traditional role monitoring and striking terrorism targets slows down.
Air Combat Command has approved Raytheon's Small Diameter Bomb II -- a smart weapon dubbed "StormBreaker" -- for operational use following a major testing campaign, a production line pause and a Nunn-McCurdy cost growth breach.
Congress has approved a Pentagon request to transfer $63.7 million from the Air Force's fiscal year 2020 operations and maintenance account to the E-4B National Airborne Operations Center and Nuclear Command, Control and Communications Center.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense projects the military's new intercontinental ballistic missile system -- the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent -- will cost $264 billion over its life cycle, which could extend into the 2070s, Air Force spokesman Capt. Joshua Benedetti confirmed in a statement to Inside Defense today.
While Air Force leaders advocate a new force structure to confront emerging threats, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) says military planners haven't demonstrated they can meet current operational needs while executing their ambitious plans to retire and replace legacy aircraft.
The Air Force and Army have signed a two-year agreement to collaborate in the development of combined joint all-domain command and control.
The Air Force has added nine companies to the pool of Skyborg contractors vying for funds to support prototyping, experimentation and autonomy development, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.
The Air Force has conducted the first flight test of the MQ-9A Reaper carrying eight live AGM-114 Hellfire missiles -- twice the number it can currently hold -- to show the remotely piloted aircraft's ability to perform "persistent attack" operations in future conflicts.
The Pentagon has finished an analysis of alternatives for the Survivable Airborne Operations Center -- a future platform capable of supporting nuclear command, control and communications operations -- and is preparing for the impacts of funding restrictions on the broader NC3 modernization enterprise under a continuing resolution.
The XQ-58A Valkyrie drone is expected to be operational again next month following a mishap over the summer and will soon fly with a gateway communications pod that could enable F-22 and F-35 fighter jets to stealthily exchange data.
The Air Force is preparing an environmental impact statement on plans to dispose the legacy Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system and deploy its replacement, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, according to a notice posted on the Federal Register today.
The Air Force has awarded Boeing a $2.2 billion contract for guaranteed minimum Lot 15 production of the precision-guided Small Diameter Bomb I.
Air Force Materiel Command is considering sending industry a second request for information to support market research into the multiple roles an MQ-9 Reaper replacement, or MQ-Next, can perform as a node within the joint all-domain command and control infrastructure.
The Pentagon has announced a new list of contractors that have received indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts worth up to $950 million to support the Air Force's Advanced Battle Management System program.
The Air Force and Lockheed Martin have begun negotiating a lower unit cost for the next batch of commoditized F-16 fighter jets they anticipate supplying through last month's novel foreign military sale contract to a new group of customers, sources tell Inside Defense.
Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper is looking to field Advanced Battle Management System capabilities with full operational use across combatant commands starting at the fourth on-ramp in Europe, he told reporters today.
The Air Force has tested the ability of new sensor and missile technology to thwart a fleet of small unmanned aerial systems while integrated with an emerging command-and-control network at the large-scale Apollyon exercise last month, the service revealed today.
The Government Accountability Office has raised concerns that the National Nuclear Security Administration's W87-1 program -- potentially the most expensive warhead modernization effort since the end of the Cold War -- is neglecting best management practices when considering future design options and plutonium pit availability, according to previously undisclosed details from a classified report the watchdog completed in February. (UPDATED)
The Air Force is refining its acquisition strategy for the Stand-in Attack Weapon -- an emerging guided missile intended for the F-35 fighter jet -- to place greater emphasis on digital engineering and open-systems architecture.