Policy
Get more F-35s in the air and don't break the bank, senators beg USAF chief nominee
Gen. Wilsbach declined to endorse the service’s ongoing reorganization to counter China.
Defense Systems
Air Force’s AI ambitions mean simplifying its tangle of networks
Over the next year, battle-networks chief aims to reduce systems to a “rational number.”
Threats
China, China, Chi—wait, what? Air Force mulls next steps amid homeland focus
Officials tout applicability of ongoing modernization, but experts and former officials have doubts.
Business
Defense One Radio, Ep. 194: Highlights from AFA's Air, Space & Cyber Conference
Our editors explore the dominant themes from this year's edition.
Threats
‘We need to be ready to go’: AFSOC preps for potential Caribbean missions
AFSOC held a long-planned exercise on St. Croix just days before the first U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat.
Policy
Foreign ties are crucial to US space dominance, officials say
More partnerships, tighter alliances are needed to counter advances by China and others, U.S. space leaders said.
Threats
The China threat goes beyond the Pacific, intel chiefs say
Air and Space Force intelligence chiefs warn of China’s global influence as military partnerships flourish.
Defense Systems
F-47’s first flight expected in 2028
That’s a year earlier than Air Force officials have previously said Boeing's sixth-gen combat aircraft might take wing.
Business
Anduril blames CCA delay on push for ‘semi-autonomous’ first flight
Air Force officials, who expected the milestone over the summer, now anticipate it by mid-October.
Business
Lockheed’s Skunk Works unveils work on a potential CCA competitor
Officials say multipurpose Vectis drone is to fly by 2027, have “Indo-Pacific” range.
Threats
AFSOC exercise brings concept created for great-power conflict to the Caribbean
Last month, U.S. forces “seized” a St. Croix airport in a demonstration of the Agile Combat Employment maneuver scheme.
Ideas
