Friday, April 18, 2025
Key Issues Overhauling the FAR Troops in South Korea Overland AI
In 1984, when the Army formally agreed to take on the responsibility of providing ground-based air defenses for air bases, Air Force officials made clear their concerns about the capabilities of near-peer adversaries and the need to fill gaps in then-current measures to protect installations.
The Pratt & Whitney-made F135 engine has completed a preliminary design review for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's Engine Core Upgrade, putting the program on track to field by 2029, according to an announcement the company posted Monday.
Deliveries of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter enabled with a truncated version of the Technology Refresh-3 software upgrade will soon resume, putting an end to a temporary pause in aircraft deliveries until Lockheed Martin fixed a series of developmental issues, according to a statement issued today by the F-35 Joint Program Office.
Air Force Air Combat Command boss Gen. Ken Wilsbach today said the service has no official plan to replace its fleet of F-22 Raptors, despite leaders for years saying a replacement would be the Next Generation Air Dominance system.
ST. LOUIS -- Even as the Air Force has signaled some support to eventually field unmanned tanker systems, plane-maker Boeing will be looking at "principally crewed concepts" until the service explicitly says it wants autonomous refueling platforms, Sean Liedman, Boeing's director of global reach, mobility, surveillance and bombers, recently told reporters here. (UPDATED)
The Air Force's new promise of "Reoptimization for Great Power Competition" -- centered on the belief that the service needs to be better postured to win in a potential fight with China -- is forcing officials to confront "two important realities" concerning the resiliency of their installations, Ravi Chaudhary, assistant Air Force secretary for energy, installations and environment, told Inside Defense.
As the Air Force overhauls swaths of its legacy fleet to make room for modernization, it is now considering Sheppard Air Force Base, TX to house T-7A Red Hawk trainers once its current inventory of T-38C Talons retires by the 2030s, according to an environmental impact statement notice posted today in the Federal Register.
The Air Force is not ready to discuss its plans to replace retiring KC-135 Stratotankers, despite previously stating information that the effort would be released in June.
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Navy's P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft will soon be outfitted to carry up to four Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles under its wings, with integration testing poised to wrap up later this summer.
ST. LOUIS -- Boeing's Defense, Space and Security unit is placing a major bet on the Air Force's next-generation fighter aircraft -- whatever that may be.
The Air Force is asking industry about various potential solutions to integrate counter-small unmanned aircraft system capabilities onto its mobility fleet as the threat posed by inexpensive drone swarms is making the larger, slower platforms increasingly more vulnerable, according to a request for information the service posted today.
As the Air Force shifts its primary acquisition model to favor software above platforms, House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee Chairman Rob Wittman (R-VA) said firm, fixed-price contracts are the best fit.
The Air Force did not make necessary considerations before requesting to divest its fleet of Block 20 F-22 Raptors, according to a report released Tuesday from the government's top watchdog.
The Air Force wants to generate 24 deployable combat wings as part of its massive structural overhaul to ensure the service is postured for success in a potential fight with a near peer adversary.
The Air Force’s legacy fleet may see fewer cuts than the service anticipated next year, according to an executive summary of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s defense authorization bill released today. But legislators would still support service officials' requests to boost dollars for modernization efforts.
The future of the Next Generation Air Dominance aircraft is hanging in the balance after Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin today appeared non-committal to the sixth-generation Lfighter program
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected software company EpiSci in partnership with PhysicsAI to develop the first version of “tactical artificial intelligence algorithms for missionized, team-based air combat,” the company announced on Wednesday.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft program would see a roughly $25.7 million cut in fiscal year 2025 compared to the Air Force's $559 million request, according to a draft spending bill from the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
The Air Force may be allowed to pursue planned divestments of legacy aircraft to boost funds for innovation, but the service should "better balance near-term readiness with modernization for the future" in upcoming budget requests through at least 2028, according to a draft version of the fiscal year 2025 defense spending bill from the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
Skunk Works, a subset of defense prime Lockheed Martin, has “successfully” demonstrated artificial intelligence in air-to-air tactical intercept scenarios, the company said Wednesday. (UPDATED)