‘Everything and the kitchen sink:’ USAF plots new refueling tanker
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force wants its next-generation aerial refuelling tanker, dubbed KC-Z, to be flying and reach initial operational capability by 2040. According to a request for information the Air Force posted online on Jan. 31, the service plans to start conducting an analysis of alternatives for the next-generation air refuelling system, or NGAS, in October and wants to hear what the defense industry might have in mind for it. Industry has until March 2 to submit its responses. The KC-Z would be the third and final stage of the Air…
US Air Force to retire all A-10s, cancel E-7 under 2026 spending plan
DefenseNews: The Air Force wants to retire its final 162 A-10 Warthog attack jets in fiscal 2026, as part of a plan to divest 340 total aircraft. The Pentagon also plans to cancel the E-7 Wedgetail program over what an official said were “significant delays” and cost increases. The service released its list of planned aircraft retirements as the Pentagon released its belated 2026 budget plan, which calls for a $211 billion discretionary budget for the Department of the Air Force. That includes a $184.9 billion discretionary budget for the U.S.…
Indian Air Force plane arrives in Fiji
An Indian Air Force aircraft has arrived in the country this morning ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on Wednesday. The aircraft is an Illyushin 76MD known as the Gajraj or King Elephant in the Indian Air Force which forms the strategic/heavy transport fleet. It has brought vehicles believed to be bullet proof for Modi’s entourage as well as his advanced security team. Modi who has been described as India’s political rock star is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country in 33 years.
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Boeing wins contract for NGAD fighter jet, dubbed F-47
DefenseNews : The Pentagon has awarded the long-awaited contract for the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance future fighter jet, known as NGAD, to Boeing, President Donald Trump announced Friday. The sixth-generation fighter, which will replace the F-22 Raptor, will be designated the F-47, Trump said. It will have “state-of-the-art stealth technologies [making it] virtually unseeable,” and will fly alongside multiple autonomous drone wingmen, known as collaborative combat aircraft. “It’s something the likes of which nobody has ever seen …
US Air Force: Adopting Army’s Future Vertical Lift program
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is keeping an eye on the Army’s next-generation rotorcraft program, which could fill a gap for agile airlift that might be needed in a fight against Russia and China, an Air Force general said Thursday. With its large air bases vulnerable to attacks from a near-peer adversary, there’s no guarantee that the Air Force will be able to rely on its current processes or equipment to transfer supplies in and out of air bases. In a war with China or Russia , the U.S. Air Force would distribute its assets to bases ow…
Northrop weighs new capabilities for B-2 after successful test
WASHINGTON — A B-2 Spirit’s successful release of a Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range weapon during a flight test last year could pave the way for the stealth bomber to one day carry the powerful cruise missiles in combat, according to a Northrop Grumman executive. The first release of the JASSM-ER from the B-2 marked the culmination of a series of five flight tests at Palmdale, California, that took place from August through December 2021, Shaugnessy Reynolds, vice president and B-2 program manager for Northrop Grumman, tol…
Sentinel nuclear missiles will need new silos, Air Force says
DefenseNews : The Air Force will have to dig entirely new nuclear missile silos for the LGM-35A Sentinel, creating another complication for a troubled program that is already facing future cost and schedule overruns. The Air Force originally hoped the existing silos that have housed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles could be adapted to launch Sentinel missiles, which would be more efficient than digging entirely new silos. But a test project at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California showed that approach would be fraught with…
US Air Force uses leftover ICBM funds to revamp Qatar plane
DefenseNews: The Air Force plans to use leftover funds from the LGM-35A Sentinel nuclear missile program to help pay for refurbishing a Qatari-donated plane into a new Air Force One presidential transport aircraft. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a June 26 hearing that the reallocated Sentinel money was “excess to need in [20]24,” and stressed the program to build new intercontinental ballistic missiles and launching infrastructure would not suffer or see further delays from moving funds around. “Let me be very clear, the Sentinel progr…
Indian air force and royal air force of oman chiefs review exercise eastern bridge-iv at jamnagar
Indian air force and royal air force of oman chiefs review exercise eastern bridge-iv at jamnagar. The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa PVSM AVSM YSM VM ADC and Commander of Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) Air Vice Marshal Matar Ali Matar Al-Qbaidani reviewed today the progress of fourth joint Indo-Oman Air Exercise Eastern Bridge IV at Air Force Station Jamnagar which commenced on 16 Jan 2017. During review the Chief of the Air Staff and Commander of Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) interacted with the participa…
US Air Force Awards Boeing $1.2 Billion for 8 F-15EX
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract to acquire its first fourth-plus-generation F-15EX fighter aircraft from Boeing Co. The service said Monday that the nearly $1.2 billion contract will cover eight jets, including initial design, development, test and certification, plus spare parts and support equipment, training and technical data, and delivery and sustainment costs. "The F-15EX is the most affordable and immediate way to refresh the capacity and update the capabilities provided by our aging F-15C/D fleets," Gen. Mike Holmes…
WASHINGTON : US Air Force up for first flight test of Golden Horde munition swarms
WASHINGTON — As a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot closes in on a target, she fires four GPS-guided bombs. As the weapons swarm toward their destination, sharing information about their surroundings, one of the munitions sights a higher-priority target nearby. Instantly, the game plan changes — the bombs’ programming now directs two of the weapons toward the high-priority target, while the rest carry out the original strike. That scenario is similar to one the Air Force Research Laboratory plans to test this year using a Collaborative Small Diam…
Before US pullout, watchdog warned of Afghan air force collapse
KABUL, Afghanistan — Months before President Joe Biden announced the U.S .’s complete withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, Washington’s watchdog warned that the Afghan air force would collapse without critical American aid, training and maintenance. The report was declassified Tuesday. Joe Biden The report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, submitted to the Department of Defense in January 2021, underscores that American authorities had been alerted that Afghanistan’s air force did not have the capab…
U.S. Air Force Reveals AI Outperformed Human Planners in Advanced Battle Management Experiment
DefenseNews: In a landmark experiment that could reshape how future wars are planned and fought, the U.S. Air Force announced that artificial intelligence (AI) tools outperformed human military planners in a major battle management experiment . The results of the test part of the Air Force’s ongoing push toward human-machine teaming and AI-enhanced command and control systems show that AI can not only generate planning solutions faster than experienced officers but can also produce higher-quality tactical options with fewer errors . The expe…
KC-46 vision system upgrade slips to 2027, 3 years behind schedule
DefenseNews : The KC-46 Pegasus refueling tanker’s troubled remote vision system is now unlikely to see a replacement upgrade until summer 2027, the Air Force said, putting the Boeing program more than three years behind schedule. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed in an email Wednesday that the current projection for fielding the system, known as RVS 2.0, is roughly two years away, but did not say what is causing the latest schedule slip. Boeing referred questions to the Air Force. “The Air Force and Boeing are exploring opportunities to pre…
KC-46 tanker test puts fuel boom operator, not copilot, in cockpit
DefenseNews: The Air Force is moving forward with experiments to test whether a two-person crew could safely fly a KC-46 Pegasus tanker in an emergency. A solo pilot and a fuel boom operator with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, on Oct. 25 took to the skies for two KC-46 sorties on a military test range, the service said Oct. 28. Flying tankers without copilots is one idea Air Mobility Command is trying out as it considers the tactics it may need in a possible military conflict with China. The Air Force has stre…
Russian Air Chief holds talks with top Indian defence brass
Russian Air Force Chief Colonel Gen Viktor Nikolaevich Bondarev today held talks with top Indian defence officials after arriving here on three-day visit to India. During his stay, he will visit the Su-30 warplane squadron, which was last week cleared for flying after being grounded for a month following a crash. Bondarev called on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar andmet with Indian Air Force Chief Air Marshal Arup Raha and Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh. His visit coincides with the arrival of an 18-member Russian Air Force team at A…
Indian Navy emerging as a major air force
The Indian Navy is on its way to becoming a major air force, with the fleet air arm having achieved several landmarks this year. In May, the first MiG-29K squadron was commissioned at the INS Hansa in Goa, with 20 world-class Russian fighters. In August, the first indigenous aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant, was launched at Kochi. Later this month, Russia will hand over the INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Admiral Gorshkov, which will supplement the INS Viraat to become the navy’s second aircraft carrier. On Wednesday, the navy rec…
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