U.S. Air Force officials have not backed off predictions of a first flight coming later this year, but certain conditions and a note of doubt have creeped in.
The Air National Guard has increased the numbers of F-15s it flies, and keeping them in the air has taken creative fleet management and intensive maintenance.
The U.S. Air Force recently deployed F-22s to a tiny, bare base in the Pacific for the first in a significant demonstration of its new agile operating concept.
The U.S. Air Force has laid out an operating plan for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the uncrewed loyal wingman systems it plans to fly alongside fighters.
The contractual milestone ends a four-year negotiating process with the F-35 Joint Program Office as the U.S. Air Force evaluates a replacement engine.
Australia can buy up to 63 Northrop Grumman-built, long-range anti-radiation missiles worth up to $506 million, the U.S. government announced on Feb. 27.