Business

Boeing Declines to Bid for ICBM, Leaving Northrop the Sole Contestant

As bidding deadline passes, Air Force must decide whether to accept a sole-source situation.

Threats

Pentagon Test-Fires 2nd INF-Banned Missile

The Air Force ran Thursday's launch from a static pad, which followed the Navy's August test from a mobile launcher.

Science & Tech

Will New Plasma Thrusters Keep Next-Gen Satellites Safe?

How the fourth state of matter could enable more nimble satellites and change the space game.

Business

What Does the US Military Need For A War In Space? It’s Hard to Say

The plans for war above the atmosphere remain so tightly classified that industry can’t start building the things that will be needed.

Defense Systems

Air Force gears up for first 'connect-a-thon'

Will Roper, the Air Force's acquisition head, said one of the best ways to prove budget needs to Congress is to show effects in the first event that centers around virtually connecting aircraft platforms.

Science & Tech

At Long Last, the F-35 and F-22 Might Talk to Each Other

And once service officials can digitally link two of the military’s stealthiest platforms, they’re going to try to link everything else.

Science & Tech

The Air Force’s ‘Doomsday Plane’ Is in the Shop

The E-4B, a plane that would quarterback a nuclear war, has lost its secondary mission as the SecDef’s main long-haul ride.

Business

Price of F-35 Falls, But Not as Much As Pentagon Hoped

Defense officials say the cost of the plane’s engine is not declining as much as the airframe itself. The engine maker says it already dropped by half.

Business

$85B Nuclear Missile Competition Gets Messier as Feds Investigate Northrop

Boeing is breaking up its ICBM team — just as the Federal Trade Commission begins looking into the company's allegations that Northrop wasn't playing fair.

Threats

Trump’s STRATCOM Pick Declines to Endorse Open-Skies Withdrawal

The Trump administration is weighing pulling out of the 1992 surveillance agreement amid complaints that Russia is out of compliance.

Defense Systems

How the Air Force upgraded cyber testing for weapons systems

Air Force Materiel Command's 96th Test Wing is modernizing the way the service tests weapons systems for cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

Ideas

Will America's Next Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile Match Up to China's?

The Air Force says the AIM-260 won't be powered by a ramjet. Does it have another trick up its sleeve?

Business

Just One Bidder Is Vying for Two Pentagon Programs Worth $130 Billion

The defense acquisition chief is looking into the Army’s disqualification of a second bidder to replace Bradley armored vehicles.

Science & Tech

Meet the US Air Force's 1st Chief Experience Officer

The service hired digital consultant Colt Whittall to improve the digital tools that airmen use to fix things and fight.

Business

New Tech Aims to Tell Pilots When Their Plane Has Been Hacked

Raytheon is pitching a product to detect cyber intrusions into aircraft, drones, and even missiles.

Science & Tech

USAF Seeks Custom Game Environment to Test New Ideas

So it's inviting game builders to compete in a three-part contest.

Ideas

An Old Idea Could Bring Anti-Aircraft Missiles of Unprecedented Capability

Ramjet SAMs promise interceptions at altitudes and distances far beyond today’s defenses.