#air-force

U.S. Air Force leaders praised the MQ-9 Reaper’s performance in Operation Epic Fury, even as lawmakers questioned why the service’s budget still leans far more heavily toward crewed aircraft.

General Atomics says its CCA drone has resumed flight testing about a month after an April crash, after safety reviews and software changes tied to an autopilot miscalculation.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the Pentagon’s mindset on the E-7 Wedgetail has fundamentally changed, and the department is now seeking budget funding for the aircraft.

A top Air Force acquisition official told lawmakers the B-52 modernization effort has stabilized, even as the bomber’s engine and radar upgrades remain burdened by major cost growth and schedule slips.

The U.S. Air Force says it has finalized requirements for a next-generation drone to replace the MQ-9A Reaper, signaling a shift toward modular, attritable aircraft designed for higher-threat environments.

The U.S. Air Force wants to retire its seven-plane E-11 BACN fleet in fiscal 2028, ending a niche airborne communications relay program as it redirects toward the emerging Department of the Air Force Battle Network.

The Pentagon wants to buy 85 F-35 fighters in fiscal 2027, but only 32 are covered in the base budget, leaving most of the plan dependent on a separate reconciliation package that has not yet been introduced.

President Donald Trump has nominated Raytheon executive and former Air Force colonel Erich Hernandez-Baquero to become assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration.

The U.S. Air Force now plans to buy 267 F-15EX fighter jets, more than doubling its previous projection, as the fiscal 2027 budget seeks broader procurement and sustainment increases.

Air Force operators recently conducted hands-on sorties with Anduril’s YFQ-44A at Edwards Air Force Base, offering one of the clearest looks yet at how semiautonomous combat aircraft may be integrated into future force-

The Department of the Air Force says it wants multi-year procurement authority for aircraft and spacecraft, arguing annual buying cycles no longer match major production programs.

The Department of the Air Force has started the first operational competition for space-based airborne moving target indication, signaling that officials now see the technology as proven enough to buy at scale.

The Air Force’s HH-60W Jolly Green II has completed what officials described as its first combat rescue of a person behind enemy lines, just as the service again requests no funding to buy more of the helicopter.

New images of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers departing for Operation Epic Fury sorties over Iran show mysterious white rectangles along wing leading edges, baffling defense analysts.

The U.S. Air Force confirmed a B-21 Raider stealth bomber completed a close-proximity flight with a KC-135 tanker — a critical milestone toward validating the bomber's long-range global strike capability.

The U.S. Air Force conducted a test launch of a Minuteman III ICBM equipped with multiple reentry vehicles, demonstrating the aging missile system's continued capability ahead of its Sentinel replacement.

The U.S. Air Force has completed a significant manned-unmanned teaming exercise pairing an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter with a General Atomics MQ-20 Avenger drone. The flight demonstrates progress toward a future where autonomous wingmen fly alongside piloted aircraft in combat.

Mounting evidence suggests the U.S. military has been accepting new F-35A Lightning II fighters without their next-generation AN/APG-85 radars since mid-2025, a consequence of persistent delays in the jet's troubled Block 4 modernization program.