All United States Air Force articles – Page 20
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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.
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NewsNorthrop, Raytheon JSTARS radars to detect slow, human targets
Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are at two different places in the race to replace the US Air Force’s radar-carrying Northrop E-8C “JSTARS,” but the two companies say their competing radar solutions will be ready in time to meet the initial fielding date in 2022 or 2023.
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NewsP&W, GE submit proposals for next-gen fighter engine development
Pratt & Whitney and General Electric’s proposals for the next phase of US Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter engine development effort are due tomorrow, with two sides anticipating sole-source contract awards in June or July of 2016.
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NewsDeptula: USAF needs 174 new bombers to replace ‘geriatric’ force
The US Air Force needs at least 120 combat-coded next-generation bombers and another 54 for test, training and attrition reserve, which is far more than the 80 to 100 the service intends to buy, according to retired Lt Gen David Deptula, dean of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute.
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NewsCAE reveals plans for extending Predator training
CAE’s defence lead has revealed plans to replicate the unmanned air vehicle training that it offers to the US Air Force to more operators of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems family of Predator UAVs.
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NewsUSAF needs more than 80 to 100 new bombers
A former commander of the USAF’s bomber force says 80 to 100 new Long-Range Strike Bombers are not enough to meet American national security objectives, and the service should consider buying more to rejuvenate its “withering” combat fleet of Boeing B-1s and B-52s.
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NewsNew details emerge about LRS-B as contract announcement nears
With a contract announcement imminent, new details about the US Air Force’s Long-Range Strike Bomber have emerged that paint the classified project as being less exotic and probably more affordable than previously imagined.
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NewsUSAF’s first combat-coded F-35s arrive at Hill AFB
The US Air Force’s first two combat-coded Lockheed Martin F-35As have touched down at Hill AFB in Utah, marking a new era in aviation for the base’s active-duty 388th and reserve 419th fighter wings, which are to receive 70 more jets through 2019.
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NewsSenators put DOD on notice over LRS-B, KC-46A fumbles
US Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain and Jack Reed have fired two warning shots at the US Air Force over its handling of the Long-Range Strike Bomber and Boeing KC-46A programmes, with the former unwittingly reporting false long-term cost projections and the later experiencing development delays and cost ...
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NewsUSAF moving F-22s to Europe as warning against Russia
The US Air Force has announced the inaugural deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-22 to Europe to counter a “resurgent Russia”.
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NewsUSAF plans to end MQ-1 Predator operations in 2018
The remotely-piloted aircraft that ushered in the armed drone revolution, the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1, will be put out to pasture by 2018, after more than two decades of service, the US Air Force says.
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NewsPICTURES: US F-16s launch against ISIS from Turkey
The US Air Force is striking militant groups in Iraq and Syria with renewed vigour just days after six Lockheed Martin F-16s arrived at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to support Operation Inherent Resolve.
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NewsA-10 replacement? USAF strategy calls for 'future CAS platform'
A new strategy document released by US Air Combat Command points to the development of a future close-air-support platform as the service pushes to retire the long-serving Fairchild Republic A-10 – its primary close-in attack airplane used to protect ground troops.
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NewsUSAF's first two combat-coded F-35s take flight
The US Air Force’s first two combat-coded Lockheed Martin F-35s have come off the assembly line at Fort Worth in Texas, with the second aircraft completing its first flight last week.
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NewsHolloman AFB to train 40% more Predator, Reaper pilots in 2016
Holloman AFB in New Mexico has become ground zero for the US Air Force’s shakeup of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper operations, and will soon be training more pilots per year than any other schoolhouse in the service, manned or unmanned, bypassing even Boeing C-17 pilot output.
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NewsUS Air Force F-16 crashes in Germany
A US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16C based out of Spangdahlem AFB in Germany has crashed during a training exercise in Bavaria.
