All Department of the Air Force (USAF) articles – Page 7
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NewsUSAF should consider supersonic business jets for battlefield management: think tank
The Mitchell Institute is calling on the US Air Force to consider using in-development supersonic business jets as next-generation command and control aircraft.
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News
US Special Operations Command explores amphibious MC-130 transport concept
The US Special Operations Command is exploring turning its Lockheed Martin MC-130J into an amphibious aircraft by adding two large floats below its hull.
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News
General Atomics teases new addition to its portfolio of air-launched effects
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is teasing a new air-launched effect, a part of a growing portfolio of in-development drones that it plans to launch from its MQ-9A Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned air vehicles.
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News
GE Aviation finishes testing on first XA100 adaptive cycle engine
The US Air Force is interested in re-engining the Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighter with an adaptive engine to increase the aircraft’s 1,200nm (2,222km) range, which is viewed as too short for attacking targets within China.
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US Air Force shows F-15E loaded with five stealthy JASSMs
The proof-of-concept shows that the F-15E could more than double its capacity of long-range cruise missiles.
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B-52 completes long-range kill chain with simulated hypersonic missile attack
The US Air Force demonstrated a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber carrying out a simulated hypersonic missile strike using targeting data from sensors positioned more than 1,000nm (1,852km) away.
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Kratos to deliver first XQ-58A Valkyrie production unit in a ‘couple of months’ to USAF
Kratos is anticipating that the XQ-58A Valkyrie will move toward operations.
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News
Skyborg autonomy ‘brain’ flies for first time aboard Kratos UTAP-22 UAV
The US Air Force’s (USAF’s) Skyborg autonomy core system flew for the first time aboard a Kratos UTAP-22 Mako tactical unmanned vehicle (UAV) at Tyndall AFB in Florida.
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News
US Air Force signs research contract for ‘Bell’s High Speed VTOL’
The US Air Force Research Laboratory has contracted Bell to research a high-speed vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
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Boeing VC-25B takes $318m loss due to Covid restrictions and supplier dispute
Boeing’s V-25B was snagged by coronavirus restrictions and a dispute with a supplier in the first quarter of 2021, causing the company to report a $318 million loss on the Presidential Aircraft Replacement programme.
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News
All USAF B-1B bombers grounded for fuel pump issue, as fleet shows its age
The US Air Force grounded all of its Boeing B-1B Lancer bombers on 20 April after a fuel pump issue was discovered.
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News
US Air Force rewrites basic doctrine, emphasising ‘commander’s intent’
As the US Air Force (USAF) potentially faces more complex and fast-paced battles in the future, where communications are likely to be disrupted, for example by jamming, it is rewriting its basic doctrine to emphasise “commander’s intent”.
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News
US Air Force starts MQ-9 Reaper upgrades to keep UAV relevant against sophisticated foes
The US Air Force (USAF) has started upgrades to part of its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper fleet to keep the unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) effective against near-peer adversaries, such as China and Russia.
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US Air Force HH-60W combat rescue helicopter finishes developmental tests
The US Air Force’s Sikorsky HH-60W Jolly Green II combat rescue helicopter finished its developmental test programme on 13 April.
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Boeing delivers only two KC-46A tankers in Q1 2021
Despite orders for dozens more KC-46A Pegasus in-flight refuelling tankers in recent months, Boeing only delivered two examples of the aircraft in the first quarter of 2021.
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News
How do you design and build throw-away aircraft?
The US Air Force wants UAVs that it can afford to lose – but that presents industry with numerous challenges to overcome.
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Former SpaceX engineers propose two-stage eVTOL for regional, military use
Two former SpaceX engineers are proposing a two-stage electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for regional cargo and passenger flight, as well as for US military missions.
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Analysis
What’s the strategic logic behind ‘surprise’ bomber flights?
US Air Force (USAF) bombers are touching down in new places. In February, for the first time in history, the Boeing B-1B Lancer bomber landed in India. Then, in March, the supersonic jet deployed for the first time from a Norwegian air base. Just this week the variable-sweep bomber landed in Poland for the first time ever.
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News
US Air Force accepts first Boeing F-15EX fighter
The choice to acquire the F-15EX is controversial as the fourth-generation fighter lacks the low radar cross-section of the service’s former favourite jet, the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter.
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US Air Force looks at air-to-air combat technologies for next-generation UAVs
The US Air Force is looking for air-to-air combat technologies for its family of next-generation unmanned air vehicles.
