All Department of Defense articles
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News
Latest F-35 configuration may not be ready for service until 2025
Already months behind schedule, US government auditors now predict the latest Technical Refresh 3 configuration of the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter will not be ready for service until 2025, as the airframer struggles to resolve technical issues hindering flight certification of the new systems.
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News
Aurora now sole designer in Pentagon heavy-lift seaplane effort
Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences is now the sole participant in a Pentagon effort to develop a heavy-lift amphibious transport, after a proposed design from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems was eliminated over schedule and technical concerns.
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News
Pentagon to accelerate fielding of AeroVironment Switchblade 600 loitering munition
AeroVironment’s Switchblade 600 is now the first lethal platform to be officially purchased under the Pentagon’s so-called Replicator initiative to field mass numbers of autonomous combat systems.
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News
Top US Air Force official rides in front seat of autonomous F-16
Secretary of the US Air Force Frank Kendall flew in the lead seat of the service’s X-62A Variable In-flight Simulation Test Aircraft (VISTA), a specially modified Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter being used to test and develop artificial intelligence and autonomy capabilities.
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News
Aurora advances in DARPA competition to build high-speed VTOL X-plane
The Boeing subsidiary received an additional $25 million for its fan-in-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft being designed for the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies X-plane competition.
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News
Anduril and General Atomics advance in USAF autonomous fighter programme
Two manufacturers have been selected by the US Air Force to advance in the competition to develop an autonomous fighter aircraft.
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News
DARPA tests dogfighting AI against human fighter pilot
Using a specially modified F-16 fighter known as the X-62A VISTA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the US Air Force pitted a dogfighting artificial intelligence system against human fighter pilots in recent air-to-air combat exercises.
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In depth
Frustrations build in Washington over continued halt on F-35 deliveries
The Pentagon is preparing to curtail the latest upgrade package for the fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter, as lawmakers expressed frustration with an eight-month freeze in new aircraft deliveries related to certifying new control software.
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News
Iranian attack on Israel included 150 one-way UAVs: Pentagon
The weekend barrage by Iran’s armed forces, which marked Tehran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel, featured more than 300 missiles and air vehicles, according to the Pentagon.
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News
Osprey returns to carrier flight decks under USMC recertification effort
US Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys are once again operating from the decks of the navy’s light carrier amphibious assault ships, as the service progresses toward recertifying its tiltrotors and crews after a three-month grounding order was lifted.
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Analysis
‘True sense of fear’: US military expands pilot training at virtual test range created for F-35
The US military has significantly expanded its use of the US Navy’s Joint Simulation Environment, using technology initially developed to evaluate F-35 systems and sensors to create robust and realistic training environments for pilots flying F-35s, F-22s, F/A-18s, EA-18Gs and E-2Ds.
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In depth
Congress gives extra $3bn to Pentagon for aircraft procurement
Six months behind schedule, lawmakers in Washington have agreed to a spending plan for the US military that includes new P-8 maritime patrol jets from Boeing, more Combat Rescue Helicopters from Sikorsky and over $2 billion for a sixth-generation fighter programme.
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News
Niger moves to expel US forces from West African airbase
The military junta that overthrew Niger’s elected government in 2023 has ordered American forces to vacate their last remaining air base in the country, which has been critical to counter-terrorism operations in the troubled Sahel region.
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News
Pentagon declares full-rate production on F-35, years behind schedule
The US Department of Defense has approved Lockheed Martin for full-rate production on the F-35 stealth fighter programme, years behind schedule and well after the airframer had already started assembling the jets at maximum capacity.
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News
Washington seeks to cut F-35 acquisition target in 2025
The Biden Administration is reportedly seeking to reduce its annual purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters from 83 to fewer than 70, citing constraints to the defence spending.
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News
Merlin to develop autonomous KC-135 flight capabilities with USAF
Autonomous flight technology company Merlin has an agreement with the United States Air Force (USAF) to work toward uncrewed operations of the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.
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News
Pentagon downplays vulnerability of US bases to drone attack
The US Department of Defense says its air defences in the Middle East have been “mostly successful” in more than 160 engagements similar to the recent attack in Jordan that killed three US Army troops.
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News
Boeing pushes delivery of fourth T-7A to February
Boeing has delayed the delivery of the US Air Force’s fourth new trainer jet after quality control checks found components supplied by a sub-contractor failed to meet the company’s standards.
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News
Pentagon releases photos of intercontinental B-1B combat mission
An unspecified number of Boeing B-1B long-range bombers flew an intercontinental combat mission from Dyess AFB in Texas to strike targets in Syria and Iraq on 2 February, as the USA began a retaliatory air campaign against militant groups involved in the deaths of three US Army personnel in Jordan.
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News
Start-up Reliable Robotics receives approval for USAF flight-testing
Autonomous flight developer Reliable Robotics has secured “military airworthiness approval” to begin using its Cessna 208 Caravan to demonstrate the potential of pilotless flight to the US Air Force (USAF).