Saturday, November 22, 2025
The Air Force's nascent MH-139 Grey Wolf program is "hitting the ground running" in fiscal year 2025, according to an executive for the helicopter-maker, with initial operational test and evaluation starting as planned in January despite outstanding issues threatening its timeline at the end of last year.
The Pentagon's lengthy effort to arm the tri-variant F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with StormBreaker precision-strike glide bombs cannot proceed until the aircraft's new Technology Refresh-3 software capability is fully operational, said an executive for the bomb-maker. (UPDATED)
Engine-maker Pratt & Whitney today was awarded up to $1.5 billion to sustain the motors which power the Air Force's F-22 Raptor, the company said in a news release.
A detailed design review of GE Aerospace's Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion option for the Air Force has been successfully completed, the company said today, allowing prototyping to begin.
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, OK -- Should a conflict between the U.S. and China break out, the Air Force Sustainment Center here could support a roughly 30-day surge before operations of the service's logistics arm get "really, really interesting," the commander said.
Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office are still aiming to declare the Technology Refresh-3 software upgrade as combat-capable in this calendar year, but cash may continue to be withheld into 2026 as the company struggles to meet stated requirements.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Feb. 6 put a hold on all planning actions regarding the Air Force's one-year-old "Reoptimization for Great Power Competition," a service spokesperson confirmed to Inside Defense.
The Air Force wants to field a fleet of large, supervising small unmanned aerial systems in the next two to three years that are enabled with command and control, data relay and electronic warfare technologies, according to a recent request for information.
Faced with massive modernization demands and a hefty sustainment backlog, the Air Force has sought to balance its budget books by underreporting needed infrastructure upgrades when setting up new programs, a former service official told Inside Defense.
End-to-end performance of the Air Force's AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile cannot be adequately assessed until the Defense Department’s test and evaluation facilities are improved, according to a Jan. 31 report released by the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Joint Program Office has yet to establish a plan to test the jet's new Technology Refresh 3 software and associated Block 4 hardware upgrades, despite aircraft enabled with a truncated version of the configuration already being delivered to field units, the Pentagon's top weapons tester said in a Jan. 31 report.
Exercises intended to simulate teaming among fighter drones and manned jets are already confirming the pairing to be a "completely natural" solution to bring "unstoppable capability" to an air-to-air fight, Maj. Gen. Joseph Kunkel, Air Force director of force design, integration and wargaming, said today.
The Air Force and aerospace prime Boeing are in "active discussions" to make needed changes to the VC-25B program, the eventual replacement for presidential aircraft Air Force One, company CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors Tuesday.
The Air Force can't afford to go big on either modernization or readiness at current funding levels, creating a stalemate in which both are already being suboptimized, said Ravi Chaudhary, the now former Air Force assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment.
The Air Force's Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program is advancing into the prototyping phase, with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney both receiving awards of up to $3.5 billion to carry-out existing contracts, the Pentagon announced Monday evening.
Boeing's Defense, Space & Security division is again anticipating negative charges in the billions as the company continues to reel from last year's International Association of Machinists work stoppage and persistent developmental delays on its firm, fixed-price programs.
The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $270 million contract to enable the F-22 Raptor with next generation infrared threat detection sensors, according to a company news release issued today.
The Air Force has begun questioning industry about existing and maturing advanced propulsion capabilities to support future aircraft requirements, according to two recently released requests for information.
President Trump on Jan. 17 announced he would nominate former Space Force Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier to be the next Air Force under secretary.
More than a decade after the fiscal year 2013 sequestration, the Air Force's foundational accounts are still recovering from negative impacts to readiness, modernization and operations and maintenance.