U.S. Air Force (USAF)

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

By Steve Trimble
The request for proposals invites bids from GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce to supply 608 engines.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Matthew Jouppi
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.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force has kicked off the integration phase of the Skyborg unmanned air system (UAS) program, with several contract awards worth up to
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
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.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force has taken the first step in an acquisition process that could lead to an air-launched hypersonic conventional cruise missile.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
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.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Gen. Timothy Ray, the head of Global Strike command, favors a concept not based on a modification to an existing aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
Boeing has installed valves on seven KC-46A Pegasus aircraft plugging the leaky fuel system the U.S. Air Force has deemed a major deficiency.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
Every facet of the problem-plagued Remote Vision System will be altered by Boeing for what the U.S. Air Force is calling "RVS 2.0."
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
Made by Lockheed Martin, Space Fence is expected to vastly increase the number of objects in orbit that can be tracked from Earth.
Space Symposium

By Steve Trimble
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.
Aircraft & Propulsion