All Department of the Air Force (USAF) articles – Page 7
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NewsUSAF reveals that five, not two, B-21 test aircraft in production
The secretary of the US Air Force (USAF) has disclosed that five test examples of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber have entered production at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
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NewsRetire old aircraft or risk losing to China: USAF secretary
Frank Kendall, secretary of the US Air Force (USAF), says local politics threaten to weaken the air force by burdening it with outdated aircraft.
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NewsUSAF secretary asks ‘hard questions’ of Advanced Battle Management System
Secretary of the US Air Force Frank Kendall is forcing a reassessment of one of the service’s highest development priorities, its Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), after asking “hard questions” of the imagined battlefield network and receiving “answers that weren’t that good”.
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NewsLockheed Martin unveils ‘LMXT’ in-flight refuelling tanker
Lockheed Martin has unveiled its bid for the US Air Force’s KC-Y in-flight refuelling tanker programme: the LMXT.
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NewsGeneral Atomics eyes Arctic Circle operations with MQ-9A ‘Big Wing’ demo
As global warming melts Arctic Ocean ice pack, leaving more open water for transit by Chinese and Russian ships, Washington is looking for new ways to keep an eye on the frigid region. One possibility: unmanned air vehicles that can keep watch from above.
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NewsAFSOC aims to design, build and fly amphibious C-130 in 17 months
The US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) plans to design, build and fly an amphibious retrofit kit for the Lockheed Martin MC-130J in 17 months.
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NewsLockheed agrees to $30,000 per flight hour cost for F-35A by FY2023
The F-35 Joint Program Office has awarded Lockheed Martin a sustainment contract for the F-35 that commits the company to reduce the operating cost of the stealth fighter to $30,000 per flight hour by fiscal year 2023, down 10.7% from FY2020.
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NewsNorthrop Grumman unveils Model 437 loyal wingman concept
Northrop Grumman has unveiled a new unmanned air vehicle concept called the Model 437 that is aimed at the US Air Force’s Skyborg programme and other international loyal wingman development efforts.
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NewsBoeing, Lockheed and Raytheon to design USAF’s ‘SCIFiRE’ hypersonic missiles
The US Air Force (USAF) has granted Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon separate contracts to develop air-breathing, hypersonic cruise missiles.
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NewsUS Air Force demos ‘low-cost’ strike on maritime targets using JDAM
Three Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle fighters demonstrated new tactics, techniques and procedures for dropping modified GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) on moving and stationary maritime targets on 26 August.
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NewsKratos demonstrates Air Wolf attritable UAV
Air Wolf appears to be a variation of the MQM-178 Firejet target drone.
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NewsGeneral Atomics Avenger uses Legion Pod’s infrared search and track to follow target
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems demonstrated in July one of its Avenger unmanned air vehicles autonomously tracking and following multiple targets using a Lockheed Martin Legion Pod’s infrared search and track capability.
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NewsF-15C downs target drone using AMRAAM guided by infrared search-and-track
A US Air Force F-15C Boeing Eagle for the first time downed a QF-16 target drone using a Raytheon AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) guided by an infrared search-and-track system.
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NewsUS Air Force invests in Hermeus’ hypersonic aircraft development
The US Air Force (USAF) and unnamed venture capital firms have invested $60 million into Hermeus Corporation as part of an effort to develop and test fly an unmanned hypersonic aircraft and propulsion systems.
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NewsBAE Systems stretches APKWS range 30% using new trajectory
BAE Systems has stretched the range of its Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rocket by 30% using a new trajectory.
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NewsBell unveils three ‘High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing’ design concepts
The company claims its High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft could blend “the hover capability of a helicopter with the speed, range and survivability features of a fighter aircraft”. Such as system would be capable of “low-downwash hover” and “jet-like cruise speeds over 400kt [740km/h]”, the manufacturer says.
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NewsUS Air Force’s ARRW hypersonic boost-glide missile fails second launch test
The US Air Force’s AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) boost-glide hypersonic missile failed to launch during a test on 28 July.
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NewsFrank Kendall sworn in as secretary of the US Air Force
Frank Kendall was sworn in as the 26th secretary of the US Air Force on 28 July at the Pentagon.
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NewsAI fighter pilot software firm Heron Systems acquired by Shield AI
Heron Systems, the company behind the artificial intelligence software that beat a US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16 pilot 5-0 in the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s AlphaDogfight trials last year, has been acquired by Shield AI.
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NewsUSAF to update MQ-9A Reaper fleet in 2022 with auto-land-and-take-off capability
The US Air Force (USAF) plans to start updating its fleet of MQ-9A Reapers with an automatic land-and-take-off capability starting in the spring of 2022.