All Department of the Air Force (USAF) articles – Page 13
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NewsUS Air Force completes final captive-carry test of ARRW hypersonic missile
The US Air Force completed its final captive-carry test of the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) under a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress’ wing on 8 August.
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First US Air Force KC-10 Extender tanker retired
The 33-year-old aircraft is the first of 59 Extenders planned for retirement.
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Why Boeing thinks F-15EX will help it win the Digital Century Series fighter programme
Boeing says the revamp of the F-15 makes the -EX variant into a “pathfinder” for future fighter aircraft development.
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In depth
What aerospace technologies will survive looming US defence cuts?
Expect a shrinking Pentagon budget in the mid-2020s. Though the USA might have tamed coronavirus and started to see its economy grow again by the middle of the decade, Washington will have to face up to the hard fiscal and economic realities of years of lost revenue
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US Air Force gets colour TV upgrade for Litening targeting pods
Northrop Grumman says colour video footage should help pilots make sense of the battlefield faster.
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US Air Force links F-35, F-22, F-16 and E-3 Sentry in multiplayer combat simulator
Pilots flew in “a highly contested simulated environment” during final acceptance test of the Distributed Mission Training system at Nellis AFB in Nevada.
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How surface-to-air missiles are changing the UAV industry
The spread of surface-to-air missiles around the world is causing the USA to rethink the way it uses its unmanned air vehicles.
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Could long-endurance UAVs be repurposed for surveillance of Russia and China?
UAVs currently fielded by the USA and Western allies are vulnerable to ground fire but may be the key to creating an early warning system in geopolitical hotspots like the Baltics or Taiwan; in fact, some analysts argue, operating non-stealthy aircraft “in plain sight” could have a powerful deterrent effect
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Record number of UAV shoot downs prompt new USAF tactics and countermeasure pod
Unmanned aircraft are proliferating in the Middle East – and so are anti-aircraft missile systems deployed to destroy them; increased vulnerability is prompting development of more sophisticated onboard defences and new tactics.
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US Air Force requests ideas for arsenal plane to launch long-range missiles ‘en masse’
The service is debating how effective such an aircraft would be against China or Russia, both which have sophisticated anti-aircraft defences that make it difficult to fly over their sovereign territory and drop bombs.
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MQ-9A Reaper demonstrates new automatic take-off and landing capabilities
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has demonstrated three new automatic takeoff and landing capabilities for its MQ - 9A Reaper unmanned air vehicle.
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Poor record sharing and planning cause US Navy aircraft maintenance delays
The service’s poor record sharing and maintenance planning has caused depot maintenance to be behind schedule 48% of the time on average between 2014 and 2019.
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US Air Force considers ways to recruit commercial pilots
The service’s Air Education and Training Command has not yet established new career paths, but is exploring the idea of recruiting experienced commercial pilots or civilians within commercial pilot training programmes.
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Lockheed Martin invests in Red 6, developer of augmented reality flight training, dogfighting
Red 6 has developed an augmented reality flight training and dogfighting software for use in a purpose-built helmet-mounted headset during flight.
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Why the USAF is keen on car maker know-how for future fighter production
The service wants to mimic the way the car industry makes small improvements to car models year after year using digital design and engineering tools.
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USAF General Charles Brown confirmed as first African American service chief in US history
General Charles Q Brown was confirmed to be the next US Air Force chief of staff by the US Senate in a vote of 98 to 0.
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Flight tests show new B61-12 nuclear bomb compatible with F-15E Strike Eagle
The demonstrations, carried out with a mock weapon, come ahead of the fighter being certificated to carry the nuke, says Sandia National Laboratories.
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US Air Force begins search to replace General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper in 2030
The MQ-9 was given initial operating capability in 2007 and has been used extensively against insurgents and terrorists in the Middle East. However, it is vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles fielded by advanced adversaries such as China and Russia.
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In depth
USAF ponders radical air-to-air missile designs
The US Air Force is asking aerospace manufacturers for experimental ideas to use in its future long-range air-to-air missiles.
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Plasma blackout is not a worry for USA's hypersonic missiles: Pentagon
The US Department of Defense is not concerned that its in-development hypersonic missiles could suffer from a communications blackout caused by a cocoon of plasma. Radioing the high-stakes weapons could be critical, for instance, to abort a mission.
