Business

Lockheed’s Pitch: Buy Our Training Jet, Save Taxpayers $1 Billion

Company officials say they can build the jets faster, and that should give them a leg up in the T-X bid evaluation.

Business

The US Air Force Just Dropped Two Fake Nukes

The tests in the Nevada desert come as tensions rise with Russia and the Pentagon seeks to replace its aging nuclear arsenal.

Defense Systems

Air Force, ULA agree on the process for certifying Vulcan launch vehicle

The agreement could help streamline the evaluation process; the Space and Missile Systems Center expects to sign similar agreements with SpaceX and Orbital-ATK.

Business

U.S. Air Force Preps a Controversial No-Bid Purchase of Spy Planes

Lawmakers balk at replacing aging EC-130Hs with smaller Gulfstream G550s without open competition.

Defense Systems

High anxiety: US needs resilient satellites, nets to avoid a space crisis

A new assessment highlights the potential for an instability crisis in space as the United States and China vie for the high ground.

Defense Systems

Air Force moves ahead with GPS III preparations

The service gives Lockheed Martin a $395 million contract modification for work on the ninth and tenth of the 32-satellite constellation.

Policy

The Intelligence Picture Over Iraq and Syria Has Gotten Much Cloudier

The leader of Air Combat Command says new players on the battlefield are complicating the air fight against ISIS.

Science & Tech

Tomorrow’s Downed Pilots May Be Rescued by an Osprey-Black Hawk Team

A U.S. Air Force chief of staff who was shot down over Serbia has reenergized the debate over the best way to do combat search and rescue.

Science & Tech

The Air Force Is Starting to Think About Its Next Strike Aircraft

Service leaders are laying groundwork for a new strike capability — even as they work to unground their F-35s.

Business

US Air Force Grounds F-35s It Just Declared Ready for War

Crumbling avionics lines are the latest setback for the jet, which had been riding a wave of progress.

Business

Boeing Needed International Help to Build New Training Jet

A decade of layoffs forced the US giant to seek engineering and manufacturing talent from partner Saab.

Business

Disjointed: Pentagon Isn’t Coordinating Efforts to Fix Readiness

Each service has its own plan, except for the Marines, who don’t really have a plan, says the GAO.

Defense Systems

Air Force exercise lets small businesses test battlefield tech

During the recent Tech Warrior exercise, technologies developed under AFRL’s SBIR program took the field in combat scenarios.

Defense Systems

Air Force's Tech Warriors put new tools to the test

The annual simulated exercise puts scientists and engineers into the field to give them a better idea of what ground troops need.

Defense Systems

Air Force orders upgrades for Reaper drone

The latest upgrades for the MQ-9 Extended Range Block 1, continues a program to improve features in older UAS.

Business

Air Force, Pentagon Have More Work to Do Before Ditching the A-10, Watchdog Says

Losing the aircraft would also mean a loss of U.S. combat search-and-rescue capabilities, the Government Accountability Office said in a newly declassified report.