Vanessa Montalbano

Vanessa Montalbano joined Inside Defense as an Air Force reporter in January 2024. She previously reported on climate change and energy politics for The Climate 202 newsletter at The Washington Post.

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Archived Articles
Daily News | December 11, 2024

As Air Force acquisition czar Andrew Hunter prepares to relinquish his duties to the incoming Trump administration, he anticipates the next executive to fill the role will face enduring obstacles around resourcing and integration.

Daily News | December 11, 2024

House and Senate authorizers want the Air Force to create and put into action a plan to begin fielding air base air defense sites at service installations located in the homeland and across the globe, per the recently released fiscal year 2025 defense policy conference bill.

The Insider | December 10, 2024

The Air Force Scientific Advisory Board is scheduled to meet next month to conduct midterm reviews of studies directed by the service secretary for fiscal year 2025, according to a filing posted in the federal register today.

Daily News | December 9, 2024

Some deliveries of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would be temporarily fenced under the proposed fiscal year 2025 defense authorization conference bill until Lockheed Martin, the Joint Program Office and the incoming defense secretary create a plan to resolve any outstanding hardware and software deficiencies hamstringing the program. (UPDATED)

The Insider | December 6, 2024

Recognizing adversary drone swarms as "the most significant threat at this time," the Pentagon is aiming to unify the military around a cohesive approach to address the challenge now and in the future, according to a Thursday DOD news release.

Daily News | December 5, 2024

Part of the Air Force's mobility fleet will be tapped to receive a fresh connectivity suite, dubbed the Global Transport Platform-as-a-Service, as early as the end of calendar year 2024 or spring 2025, Inside Defense has learned.

Daily News | December 5, 2024

The fate of the Air Force's embattled Next Generation Air Dominance platform will now be determined by the Trump administration, the service indicated today.

Daily News | December 2, 2024

The Air Force has not wrung out all the wrinkles in its new force generation model which seeks to change the way the service deploys to be better prepared to deter China in a potential conflict, according to the government's top watchdog.

Daily News | November 14, 2024

The possible ascendance of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) to the chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee could be a turning point in Air Force modernization efforts as the ranking member has pushed for boosting the existing topline for national defense spending by billions of dollars to ensure legacy and new platforms can rule the air domain.

Daily News | November 13, 2024

The Collaborative Combat Aircraft designs created by Anduril Industries and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems have completed their critical design reviews, a top Air Force official said today.

Daily News | November 12, 2024

The Air Force today accepted Merlin’s airworthiness plan to add its autonomous pilot to an operational KC-135 Stratotanker, putting the project on track for ground testing, flight testing and other demonstrations in 2025, according to a company news release.

The Insider | November 12, 2024

The Air Force is focused on 13 technical research areas to get its munitions portfolio on par with advancements in air dominance, including advanced control actuation systems, autonomy and improved aircraft integration, according to a broad agency announcement the service posted today.

Daily News | October 31, 2024

Year after year, long-term continuing resolutions have strangled the defense budgetary process, which Air Force officials say is exhausting time that could have been spent on advancing capabilities and blurring the service’s vision about what it might need to maintain superiority over the nation’s adversaries.

Daily News | October 31, 2024

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and BAE Systems are working together to build autonomous electronic warfare functions for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, GA-ASI announced today.

The Insider | October 30, 2024

The Space Force posted its annual request for National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 proposals, offering new companies the chance to enter the vendor pool for these launch services.

Daily News | October 29, 2024

Boeing unfairly charged the Air Force for 12 out of 46 C-17 Globemaster spare part items, including a 7,943% markup for lavatory soap dispensers, according to a report the Pentagon's inspector general released today.

The Insider | October 24, 2024

The Air Force wants to deploy low-collateral-effects interceptor technologies against small unmanned aerial systems in future battles, according to a request for information issued today.

Daily News | October 23, 2024

Defense manufacturing giant Boeing is again hemorrhaging money, but CEO Kelly Ortberg says the company can pivot back to prior success via better discipline in its "tough contracts" and a focus on risk management in future ones.

Daily News | October 22, 2024

Aeronautics sales for defense prime Lockheed Martin fell nearly 3% in the third quarter of 2024 -- from $6.7 billion to $6.5 billion -- compared to one year earlier, the company told investors today, attributing the loss directly to contractual and technical issues on its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

Daily News | October 21, 2024

The Pentagon's costliest weapon system has yet again fallen below Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps mission-capable rate goals, due partly to ongoing challenges with depot and organizational maintenance, according to the government's top watchdog.

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