U.S. Air Force (USAF)

By Guy Norris, Steve Trimble
The pair of F-117As seen over Southern California are believed to be two of the cadre of four stealth aircraft resurrected from a small number that have been retained in flyable storage.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
The missile forms a critical element of the Pentagon’s fast-track plan to develop a range of high-speed stand-off strike and cruise weapons to counter new Chinese and Russian hypersonic capabilities.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
As the U.S. Air Force prepares for a mysterious and “historic” demonstration on Dec. 15 involving the Lockheed Martin U-2S, the company’s Skunk Works division has revealed details of a “complementary” technology experiment held in secret a month ago with the same aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A conference agreement by the House and Senate calls for a Pentagon-level review of the U.S. Air Force's strategy for the Next Generation Air Dominance program and criticizes the Navy's plans as "significantly immature."
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
A Matrix-inspired description of the U.S. Air Force's next fighter acquisition suggests substantial cost savings are possible, but not everyone agrees.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
U.S. Space Force and Air Force leaders are seeking to define roles and missions between all of the armed services for a broad range of capabilities.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Lee Hudson
With 15 days left in the fiscal year, the U.S. Air Force and Space Force have not sent Congress a wish list of waivers to make living without a new appropriations bill easier.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
A full-scale flight demonstrator for the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program has already flown in secret and “broken records” in the process, a senior official said on Sept. 15.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
SIREN appears to share similar objectives with the National Security Space Architecture launched by the Space Development Agency (SDA), except the AFRL initiative is limited to potential demonstrations and experiments.
Space

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $13.3 billion contract to replace the nation’s aging intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Jen DiMascio
SpaceX is sticking by its lawsuit against the U.S. military for its decision not to award it one of three design and development contracts awarded two years ago, saying the decision has inflicted “substantial harm” on the company.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force’s nuclear weapons managers have started researching a key technology for an intercontinental range hypersonic glider.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Lee Hudson
U.S. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett notified the Oregon Air National Guard Aug. 14 that its Portland base will be the first to replace its aging F-15C/D Eagles with the updated F-15EXs.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Lee Hudson
The service wrapped up its business case analysis and is pushing for Next Generation Air Dominance to become a program of record.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
Hypersonic aircraft developer Hermeus is working with the U.S. Air Force to evaluate how the company’s Mach 5 concept could be modified into a high-speed executive vehicle, including potentially a presidential transport.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
Gen. Charles Brown will be the 22nd Air Force chief of staff and the first African-American to hold the post.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
Four companies have been selected to build prototypes for the Skyborg family of autonomous and attritable unmanned aircraft systems, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced on July 23.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Future defense budgets can't afford to modernize nuclear and conventional weapons simultaneously, so the head of the U.S. Air Force has suggested an alternative financing approach to solve the problem.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Lee Hudson
The House Armed Services Committee proposes investing $150 million in space technology development in the chairman’s mark of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill.
Space

By Lee Hudson
The Pentagon has finalized the U.S. Space Force’s organizational structure for echelons below the headquarters level, and has announced sweeping changes for the space acquisition structure.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
An attempt by U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to acquire a new light attack aircraft has met with sharp scrutiny in the program’s first
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris, Steve Trimble
A scramjet-powered missile developed under the joint DARPA/U.S. Air Force Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) program was destroyed in a recent test accident, Aviation Week has learned.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force has extended initial operational testing on the Boeing KC-46A for at least three years.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The awards create a pool of contractors now eligible to compete for a rolling series of task orders as the Air Force stages “on ramp” demonstrations for new Advanced Battle Management System technologies.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Steve Trimble
When discussing the U.S. Air Force's next C2 architecture, the temptation is to focus on the E-3 AWACS and E-8C J-Stars. Less attention is paid to the ground-based, and in many ways more powerful, corollaries of both aircraft.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare