Inside the Air Force highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Air Force:

1. Air Force operators will now receive the first EC-37B Compass Call in 2023, not 2022 as the service expected earlier this year, a BAE Systems spokesman said this week.

Full story: First Compass Call delivery to warfighters pushed into 2023, BAE says

2. The Air Force has approved a new service cost position for the B-2 Defensive Management System Modernization effort, projecting a $300 million increase to the program's cost.

Full story: Air Force projects $300M cost growth after B-2 DMS-M design change

3. Some Air Force units are latching onto an experiment run by Air Education and Training Command aimed at tailoring and accelerating the pilot-education process, as squadrons start to adapt the software and hardware to their own needs.

Full story: Hardware investments, more experiments stem from 'Pilot Training Next'

4. The Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute this week proposed the service consider pulling Lockheed Martin F-16 jets from the boneyard to repurpose them as autonomous aircraft that can fight in tandem with other platforms like the B-21 and F-35, arguing fleets of autonomous aircraft are a cost-effective way to bolster combat capacity.

Full story: Mitchell Institute suggests using old F-16s as autonomous teammates