All United States Air Force articles – Page 2
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B-21 completes second known test flight
The next-generation US Air Force stealth bomber being developed by Northrop Grumman made its first flight in November from a test centre in Palmdale, California.
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USAF tests rapid fighter deployment with Bahrain
Military planners at the Pentagon and regional headquarters around the world are exploring methods for maintaining the sortie generation needed to establish air superiority without relying on large, established airfields that are easier for adversaries to target – a concept known as agile combat employment.
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USAF crew ejects from B-1B in South Dakota crash
All four crew aboard a US Air Force Boeing B-1B supersonic bomber safely ejected from a crash on Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, for which the cause is not yet known.
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US Navy expands fighter maintenance support to cover air force F-16s
Amid the ongoing retirement of older model Boeing F/A-18 strike fighters, the US Navy is using excess capacity at its fighter maintenance depots to assist the US Air Force in sustaining its Lockheed Martin F-16 jets.
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USAF tests reverse flow air refuelling using C-5M to top off KC-10
The reverse refuelling concept turns the US Air Force’s massive Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy strategic lifters into “floating gas stations”, freeing up more dedicated tanker aircraft to refuel tactical craft.
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Boeing delivers two F-15EXs with two more expected by year-end
The delivery marks the third and fourth examples of the latest F-15 variant turned over to the US Air Force, which hopes to supplement its growing fleet of fifth-generation fighters.
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‘Franken-bird’ project attempts to splice together damaged F-35s
Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force say the salvage mission represents the first-ever attempt to remove viable airframe sections from damaged aircraft and re-connect them into an airworthy jet.
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US Congress halts KC-135 replacement until USAF produces stealth tanker acquisition plan
The 2024 defence spending plan approved by lawmakers in Washington bars the US Air Force from issuing a formal strategy to phase out the ageing Boeing KC-135 tanker fleet, until the service produces an acquisition strategy for the Next Generation Air-refuelling System survivable tanker.
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US defence spending bill could expose new details of sixth-generation fighter development
Language included in the 2024 US defence spending plan will require the Pentagon to provide greater insight into how it plans to develop and field the next generation of combat aircraft, including sixth-generation fighters and autonomous support jets.
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US Congress approves nearly 12% reduction to A-10 fleet
For the second consecutive year, lawmakers who control US defence spending have approved the retirement of some Fairchild Republic A-10 attack jets, a move long-sought by US Air Force leaders.
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US grounds entire Osprey fleet following deadly crash in Japan
Both the US Air Force and US Navy say a preliminary investigation into the 29 November crash of a Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey indicates a “potential materiel failure” caused the deadly mishap, but the underlying cause remains unclear.
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Boeing no longer competing to build USAF’s new ‘Doomsday jet’
The withdrawal of Boeing from the contest to build a new airborne command centre capable of managing a nuclear exchange leaves Sierra Nevada Corporation as the only bidder to replace the current Boeing E-4B Nightwatch.
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Search crews find wreckage of US Osprey tiltrotor that crashed off Japanese coast
Dive teams have located the fuselage of a US Air Force CV-22 Osprey that crashed in water off the southern coast of Japan on 29 November, killing eight crew.
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Pentagon orders AC-130J strike in Iraq
The lethal action follows other strikes in Syria, which Washington says it ordered against Iranian-affiliated groups in response to aggression against American ground and naval forces in the region.
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Piasecki wins $37m AFWERX funding for tilt-duct aircraft
The multi-year funding through the AFWERX programme and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) will see Piasecki showcase in flight its Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) tilt-duct unmanned air vehicle and a ZeroAvia fuel cell propulsion system.
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Boeing moves toward low-rate production of MH-139 nuclear patrol helicopter
With delivery of the sixth and final test aircraft, Boeing has completed the research and development phase of the MH-139A Grey Wolf programme, now moving toward low-rate initial production on the helicopter that will be used to patrol the silos housing the USA’s nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
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Pratt & Whitney lands contract to maintain B-52 and E-3 engines
Engine maker Pratt & Whitney (P&W) has won a Pentagon contract valued up to $870 million for sustainment of TF33 engines, which power Boeing B-52H heavy bombers and Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning jets. The TF33 is the military designation for P&W’s JT3 commercial jet engine. The sustainment contract, ...
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Flight of the Raider: B-21 lifts off for the first time
The next-generation stealth bomber, under development by Northrop Grumman for the US Air Force, made its first flight on 10 November from the secretive Plant 42 industrial facility in the California high desert.
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First Boeing T-7A arrives at California air base for flight testing
The first example of Boeing’s T-7A Red Hawk has arrived at Edwards AFB in California, as Boeing and the US Air Force (USAF) progress through flight testing toward low-rate production of the new jet trainer.
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USA launches F-15 strikes and B-1 flights over the Middle East following MQ-9 downing
American air power is on full display across the Middle East, with a B-1 bomber flight and lethal strikes from F-15 fighters coming the same day a US Air Force MQ-9 UAV was downed by rebel fighters in Yemen.