As the U.S. Defense Department prioritizes great power competition, demand for the Raptor fleet as the Air Force’s “silver bullet” air dominance force has never been greater.
After a one-day delay due to poor weather, the 197-ft. (60-m) tall Atlas V lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at 9:14 a.m. EDT to deliver an Air Force X-37B test vehicle into orbit for a sixth mission.
The release of the second draft on April 24 by the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center moves the competition closer to a formal bidding phase scheduled to begin later this year.
The design of the Northrop Grumman B-21’s trailing edge has led to speculation about a high-altitude role for the secretive stealth bomber, and new U.S. Air Force statements appear to confirm that analysis.
The U.S. Space Force has a new launch goal, dubbed “Set the Pace for Space,” which aims to make launch on demand available for commercial and military customers.
As Boeing begins to manufacture T-7A Red Hawk engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) aircraft for Air Force testing, the company still is using its two production-representative jets to collect data.
The U.S. Air Force is proposing the retirement of 13 KC-135s and 16 KC-10s in fiscal 2021, while the successor Boeing KC-46A Pegasus is not considered operationally viable.
A new rendering of the Northrop Grumman B-21A released by the U.S. Air Force Jan. 31 offers a fresh perspective on the overall size and features of the highly secretive stealth bomber.