All United States Air Force articles – Page 17
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News
DUBAI: USAF secretary to redouble efforts on sluggish FMS process
US Air Force secretary Deborah Lee James says concerns about the sluggish US foreign military sales approval process featured prominently in her discussions at the Dubai Air Show, with complaints coming from industry and regional partners.
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NewsUSAF QF-4s set for 2017 out of service date
The US Air Force expects to cease carrying out test support using its 22-strong fleet of BAE Systems QF-4 Phantom aerial targets in January 2017, followed by a complete out of service date in the middle of that year.
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News
DUBAI: US working to fill guided munitions shortage as conflict reigns
Ongoing conflicts in Yemen, Iraq and Syria have seen a rapid depletion of munitions inventories and the US government is stepping up its efforts to keep its partners and allies supplied.
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News
LRS-B budget trimmed again in defence spending revision
The US Air Force’s delayed selection of Northrop Grumman for the Long-Range Strike Bomber programme could see project funding halved this fiscal year, with congressional authorisers recommending another $230 million reduction because of contract delays.
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NewsUSAF seeks 10 commercial jets in new market survey
The US Air Force appears to be in the market for a new fleet of special mission aircraft after releasing a market survey for airframe manufacturers capable of delivering 10 “green aircraft” starting in 2018.
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NewsExperts split on likely Long-Range Strike Bomber winner
The US Air Force is poised to deliver the decision of the decade, with reports that its highly anticipated Long-Range Strike Bomber contract award could come as early as Tuesday. Two key steps must take place, and Bloomberg reports that the first has already taken place.
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NewsUSAF touts LRS-B cost as downselect approaches for 100 bombers
The US Air Force is “very, very close” to selecting an industry team to delivering its much-anticipated Long-Range Strike Bomber, perhaps pointing to a long-overdue announcement by the end of the month.
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NewsUSAF A-10s deploy to Incirlik
The US will accelerate its air operations in Syria against Islamic State militants by deploying its Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II to Incirlik AFB in Turkey.
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NewsJPO: F-35s could cost $1M more without Canada
F-35 programme chief Gen Christopher Bogdan says the cost of each Lightning II would increase 0.7% to 1%, or about $1 million per copy, if Canada cancels its order.
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Opinion
OPINION: USAF bomber decision to threaten industrial balance
Northrop Grumman’s status as the US military’s third source of stealthy combat aircraft is doomed, whether or not it wins the $55 billion long-range strike bomber (LRS-B) contract from the US Air Force. At least, that’s an argument that’s been making the rounds for several months.
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AnalysisANALYSIS: Predator training demand continues in New Mexico
The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1 Predator unmanned air vehicles are the backbone of the US Air Force unmanned surveillance fleet, and their use in multiple theatres demands a robust training schedule.
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AnalysisANALYSIS: USAF crash marks sixth hull loss for C-130J
The fatal accident involving a US Air Force-operated Lockheed Martin C-130J in Afghanistan on 2 October is the sixth hull loss to have involved a “Super Hercules”, and the first in which US personnel have died.
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NewsUSAF C-130J crash in Afghanistan kills 11
A Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft operated by the US Air Force has crashed at Jalalabad airfield in Afghanistan.
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NewsNorthrop receives $3.2bn to support USAF Global Hawk
The US Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $3.2 billion contract to sustain and modernise all variants of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle.
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NewsPease ANGB begins preparations to house Boeing KC-46 in 2018
Pease Air National Guard Base in New Hampshire has begun updating 1950s-era hangars once occupied by Boeing B-47 Stratojets and KC-97 Stratofreighters, of Strategic Air Command, to accommodate the manufacturer’s newest creation, the Boeing KC-46.
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NewsUSAF stripping 30 B-52Hs of nuclear weapons capability
As US Air Force Global Strike Command anticipates the introduction of the nuclear-capable Long-Range Strike Bomber in the mid-2020s, the command is de-arming its air-launched cruise missile-carrying Boeing B-52 bombers to comply with New START treaty limits with Russia.
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NewsUSAF could expand ‘Rapid Raptor’ quick-reaction deployments
US Air Combat Command might have too few Lockheed Martin F-22s, but the recently conceived “Rapid Raptor” method for quick-reaction fighter jet deployments is proving so successful that it might be extended to other airframes.
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NewsAFSOC developing tactics for '2020' AC-130 gunship laser weapon
The head of US Air Force Special Operations Command has issued a “JFK challenge” to the defence industry to install a high-power electric laser on an AC-130 gunship by the end of the decade.
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NewsAFSOC seeks expendable, small UAV as AC-130 gunship sensor
US Air Force Special Operations Command wants an expendable, tube-launched small unmanned aerial vehicle for its AC-130 “battleplane” for peering beneath cloud cover to direct gunfire and precision-guided munitions.
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NewsUSAF seeks ‘interim’ CHAMP, longer-range air-to-air missiles
The US Air Force plans to introduce Boeing and Raytheon’s “CHAMP” high-power-microwave emitting cruise missile into the combat force on board the 1990s conventional air-launched cruise missile as an “interim capability” while the technology transitions to Lockheed Martin’s JASSM-ER.