Inside the Air Force highlights

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

1. The Air Force's request to buy 16 new MQ-9 Reapers in fiscal year 2018 would grow the inventory to 366 aircraft over the life of the program, after the service said 350 Reapers would satisfy its needs until a follow-on capability can be fielded.

Full story: Air Force to buy 16 Reapers in FY-18, growing total program inventory

2. Lockheed Martin is planning a multidomain command-and-control wargame for October that will be the first of multiple technology-enabled exercises expected to shape the Air Force's ongoing Enterprise Capabilities Collaboration Team study.

Full story: Lockheed working to shape multidomain conversation in Air Force ECCT

3. Boeing believes it can deliver the first KC-46 in December despite the Air Force's recent assessment that the new tanker won't be ready until late spring 2018.

Full story: Air Force projects KC-46 delivery delay from late 2017 to late spring 2018