U.S. Air Force (USAF)

Lockheed Martin F-35s will become more expensive over the next four years, with flyaway prices rising 16-18% depending on the variant.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall says the budget plan for maintaining its fleet is “not executable” and needs to be fixed now.

Senators want a U.S. Space Force program executive office to manage the acquisition of satellites that can track both air and ground moving targets from orbit.

Intensifying budget pressures are forcing USAF to “take another look” at spending plans for its prized Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, says Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

LeoLabs has won a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWerx innovation unit to develop an S-band 2D direct radiating array ground-based radar.

Following multiple failed attempts, the agency says airborne laser technology has evolved enough to deserve another shot.

EpiSci and PhysicsAI are the first contractors selected for a DARPA program to develop software to enable beyond-visual-range engagement with multiple aircraft.

When a potential adversary’s radar picks up numerous cruise missiles, each target needs to be tracked and treated as a threat. The targets need “Respect.”

Autonomous flight system startup Merlin Labs has won a contract potentially worth $105 million to demonstrate a reduced aircrew capability for SOCOM C-130Js.

The Missile Defense Agency will soon deliver new radars to Guam ahead of planned large-scale tests of its new ballistic missile defense architecture.

Boeing on June 6 delivered the first operational F-15EX Eagle II to the U.S. Air National Guard.

Scaled Composites, which has built and flown a new aircraft roughly every year since forming in 1982, is still expanding in its 17th year with Northrop Grumman.

An Air Force F-15 pilot failed to engage the emergency braking/steering system during an emergency landing, causing the Eagle to crash into an irrigation canal.

The House Appropriations Committee plans to allocate billions of dollars to fund missile-warning-and-tracking initiatives in its fiscal 2025 bill.

The U.S. Air Force conducted the first of two planned intercontinental ballistic missile tests this week—firing a Minuteman III with one reentry vehicle.

House appropriators want to cut the administration’s planned military procurement and operations spending, to allow for more R&D and personnel spending.

Joby Aviation has acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, a U.S. startup developing a modular autonomous flight system for aircraft.

With the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the head of Lockheed Martin’s advanced development arm challenges U.S. Air Force planners and competitors.

DIU is interested in partnerships with companies building radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened microelectronics.

The life expectancy of a future Collaborative Combat Aircraft is not a trivial question.

DIU announced June 3 that it has awarded contracts to Anduril, Integrated Solutions for Systems Inc., Leidos Dynetics and Zone 5 Technologies.

Boeing on May 31 resumed delivering KC-46 tankers to the U.S. Air Force following an almost three-month pause.

The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has confirmed that the Lockheed Martin F-35B that crashed in New Mexico on May 28 was a development test aircraft.

Sierra Nevada is starting work on the Air Force’s E-4B replacement and outlining teammates.