Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining Aviation Week in August 2021, Brian covered the Pentagon for Air Force Magazine. Brian began covering defense aviation in 2011 as a reporter for Military Times. Over a decade as a defense journalist, he has reported from dozens of bases at home and abroad, including austere airstrips in Afghanistan, the cockpit of a B-52 over the South Pacific and the boom operator station of a KC-46. Before the military beat, Brian covered the Washington state legislature for the Associated Press.
The industry continues to wonder about the U.S. Navy's F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter, which has been the next major contract expected to drop after the U.S. Air Force made it pick last month.
The U.S. Navy hopes to finalize requirements for the replacement of MH-60R/S helicopters as it balances an expected mix of crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
The U.S. Navy is targeting a 25% increase in the operational range of its future F/A-XX strike fighter compared to its existing F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet.
