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.
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…
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…
‘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 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…
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…
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.…
DefenseNews: Look at the military firepower the US is providing to Israel
DefenseNews : Within hours of the horrific attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needs to respond. A second U.S. carrier strike group departs from Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday. Scores of aircraft are heading to U.S. military bases around the Middle East. Special operations forces are now assisting Israel’s military in planning and intelligence. The first shipment of additional munitions has already arrived. For now, the buildup reflects U.S. concern that the de…
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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 …
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…
U.S. Air Force teaming F-22s with F-35s to maximise their 5th Generation capabilities
U.S. Air Force is starting to integrate its F-35s and F-22s to improve fifth-generation tactics. Four F-22 Raptors belonging to the the 94th Fighter Squadron, from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, deployed to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida to conduct joint training with the local-based F-35A Lightning IIs from the 58th Fighter Squadron. The joint training was aimed at improving integration between the two most advanced radar-evading planes in service with the U.S. Air Force: flying mixed formations, the F-22s and F-35s flew…
US Air Force to Share Space Data Directly with China
U.S. Air Force Space Command will share orbital data directly with interested Chinese agencies. Building on an initiative from the July 2014 U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, China has formally requested that U.S. Air Force Space Command share information with Beijing that could help prevent future satellite and satellite debris collisions in space. This is information that the United States has already been sharing with China, but in the past, this was processed through the State Department. Given the latest Chinese reque…
Defence partnership with India critical to US: US Air Chief
The India-US defence partnership is not only critical for the United States, but is also beneficial to India, a top US air force general has said. The India-US defence partnership is not only critical for the United States, but is also beneficial to India, a top US air force general has said. “I think it is a partnership that is critical to our nation overtime I think it is also very beneficial to India,” the US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Mark Welsh said during a breakfast meeting of Defence Writers Group in…
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…
Boeing: Assisting US Air Force in answering IAF''s questions on F-15EX aircraft
Boeing is assisting the US Air Force in answering questions coming from the Indian Air Force (IAF) about the capabilities of the F-15EX aircraft, said a top official of the aerospace giant on Wednesday, at a time when India is in the process of purchasing 114 new fighter jets. Prat Kumar, Boeing vice-president and F-15 program manager, said at a webinar, "India is there for a large 114-jet acquisition programme. We are waiting for the ASQRs (Air Staff Qualitative Requirements), the requirements'' definitions, because right no…
US Air-force: B-1s return to Guam
A pair of B-1B Lancer bombers on Friday deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to conduct training as part of a bomber task force mission. The B-1s, from the 28th Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, will support Pacific Air Forces as they train with allies, partners and joint forces, PACAF said in a release. Before they arrived at Guam, the bombers flew to the Sea of Japan, where they trained on intercepting aircraft with F-15Js from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, or Koku-Jieitai. These bombers are from the 2…
F-35s for India: Is America About to Make a Big Stealth Sale
New Delhi still likes Russian technology, but Washington is trying to make a sale and enhance American-Indian ties. If a deal happens, it will further remove India from Russia’s influence. When the Times of India revealed that the Indian air force was revising its single-engine fighter competition to encompass twin-engine jet designs, a collective groan likely rang from New Delhi to Washington—and even Stockholm. This first appeared in 2018 and is being reposted due to reader interest. The competition was meant to acquire a new generatio…
Boeing: Indian Air Force Have Got 37 Advanced Military Helicopters
India finalized a multi-billion dollar contract with Boeing to procure 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinooks for the IAF in September 2015. Both the Apache and Chinook helicopters have been pressed into service as part of the air force's deployment along the Line of Actual Control. New Delhi: In the midst of heightened tension between India and China, US aerospace major Boeing delivered the final five of the 22 Apache attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force last month, and the fleet has now been part of the assets deployed in key …
Chinese Drills Near Taiwan Seen as Possible Blockade Test
DefenseNews: China’s recent military drills near Taiwan conducted under the banner of “Justice Mission 2025” have drawn intense global attention and concern. Analysts say that these exercises, undertaken by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) across naval and air domains, were not merely routine training but a possible rehearsal of blockade strategies aimed at deterring the United States and its allies from intervening in a Taiwan contingency. The drills took place across five maritime and air zones surrounding the self‑ruled island, bringing…
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