The Air Force wants to kick-off a Crewed Platform Integration program next year to pair its nascent Collaborative Combat Aircraft with F-22 Raptor jets, according to fiscal year 2026 budget request documents.
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Saturday, July 12, 2025
The Air Force wants to kick-off a Crewed Platform Integration program next year to pair its nascent Collaborative Combat Aircraft with F-22 Raptor jets, according to fiscal year 2026 budget request documents.
The Air Force has quietly developed a capability to deploy small drones from its KC-135 Stratotanker fleet. Now it wants to create an acquisition plan to integrate the new function onto the 60-year-old aerial-refuelers, according to the service’s fiscal year 2026 budget request.
Under the House Armed Services Committee's draft version of the fiscal year 2026 defense policy bill, the Air Force would not be able to accept new production KC-46 Pegasus tankers until a plan is in place to correct all remaining category 1 deficiencies.
The Air Force has sent Congress a $9.9 billion unfunded priorities list for fiscal year 2026, with nearly half of that request focusing on bolstering the service’s munitions inventory, according to documents obtained by Inside Defense.
The Air Force wants to begin examining ways to increase the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's range by potentially integrating external fuel tanks onto the aircraft, according to the service's fiscal year 2026 budget request.
As the dust begins to settle following U.S. strikes last month on Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities -- which marked the first-ever use of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator -- the Air Force is beginning to envision a new bomb to hit deeply buried targets with even greater impact.
The initial launch of the missile warning/missile tracking satellite part of the Epoch 1 program has been delayed from fiscal year 2026 to the middle of FY-27, a Space Systems Command official said today.
As the current production contract for the KC-46 Pegasus tanker nears completion, the Air Force is now weighing the next steps for the program. A subsequent KC-46 production award decision could come "within months" pending an ongoing analysis, service Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said yesterday.
The Air Force pulled funds from the troubled LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program to help pay for modifications to make a luxury jet gifted to the U.S. by Qatar suitable to serve as Air Force One, a top service official said today.
Senior defense officials today said the Pentagon is canceling the Air Force's E-7 Wedgetail program, setting the stage for a possible battle with the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
The Air Force is only requesting to buy 45 fighter aircraft in fiscal year 2026, a sizable drop from its previously stated goal of purchasing at least 72 each year to modernize the fleet.
Iran's retaliatory strikes on Monday against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar have broadened leaders' fears that U.S. air bases are no longer sanctuaries.
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello has been tapped to lead the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Joint Program Office, the Pentagon announced today.
The Pentagon on Wednesday nominated Lt. Gen. Adrian Spain to lead Air Combat Command following Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach's retirement.
Autonomously piloted drones will need to be able to survive without several capabilities often taken for granted in war, such as GPS and communications, according to Ryan Tseng, co-founder and president of ShieldAI.
Lockheed Martin believes it has finished all of the work necessary to make the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's Technology Refresh-3 software upgrade combat capable, company executives said today at the Paris Air Show, but formal approval will have to come from the U.S. government.
Difficulty in validating hardware for the Air Force's Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is putting the program behind schedule and could narrow the number of flight tests the service can perform before deeming the weapon operational, according to the Government Accountability Office's annual weapon systems report.
As the Air Force’s new Integrated Capabilities Command sits in a provisional status, lawmakers on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee are asking the service to provide updates regarding its formal establishment and ongoing modernization work while showing support for the effort.
Oklo, Inc. has been selected to develop and operate the Air Force's first-ever micro-reactor, pending certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the service announced yesterday.
A not-yet-approved budget reconciliation bill accounts for an overwhelming majority of planned research and development spending for the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program in fiscal year 2026, according to budget request documents obtained by Inside Defense.