Tag: US Air Force

The first B-21 Raider bomber is expected to roll out early next year and fly in the middle of 2022. The production of the second B-21 stealth bomber is already underway at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Palmdale, Calif.,

The US Air Force is funding the development of a new class of 45,000 lb thrust-adaptive jet engine, designed to power the future sixth generation fighter in the 2030s. Two contracts were awarded, each to complete three prototype engines in four years.

Lockheed Martin successfully launched production-configuration Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) from a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber. to be integrated onboard the U.S. Air Force's B-1B in 2018 and on the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F in 2019, LRASM will fulfill the US Navy's Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) Increment I requirement.

The U.S. Air Force plans to maintain its fleet of Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolts close air support aircraft and the Lockheed Martin U-2 high altitude spy plane, shelving plans to phase out these cold-war era platforms.

Australia is likely to become the first international user of Raytheon’s AIM-120D, the latest, extended range variant US Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). This is the newest air-to-air weapon in the U.S. arsenal AIM-120D offers increased range, GPS-aided navigation, two-way data link and improved kinematic performance.

Multiple radios and associated waveforms were integrated with the U-2, which served as a communications gateway between an F-22, F-18s and a Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) surrogate platform.

Boeing and the U.S. Air Force successfully completed the first flight of the KC-46 tanker test program Sunday 28 December 2014. The plane, a Boeing 767-2C, took off from Paine Field, Wash., at 9:29 a.m. (PST) and landed three hours and 32 minutes later at Boeing Field. The 767-2Cs enter flight test as commercial freighters prior to receiving their aerial refuelling systems, while the KC-46s will fly as fully equipped tankers through the FAA and military certification process.

The U.S. Air Force is developing an automated targeting workflow that would help planners accelerate the targeting cycle, while reducing operational risks of fratricide and collateral damage, by increasing processing automation and precision of targeting products supported by the new “CATALiST” targeting platform.

The U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin have reached an agreement in principle for the production of 43 F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF) aircraft. The buy includes 19 F-35As for the Air Force, six F-35Bs for the Marines and four F-35Cs for the Navy. Additional aircraft included are 10 F-35As for Israel (2), Japan (4), Norway (2)and Italy (2) as well as four F-35Bs for the UK.

As the coalition prepares to leave Afghanistan, the war torn country still lack effective air power to assist the ground forces battling the Taliban. "Clearly the biggest gap in the Afghan Air Force is the ability to deliver fire from the air to the enemy on the ground." US Air Force general John McMullen said.

The US Air Force has been testing the Skate, a small, miniature drone made of styrofoam that has demonstrated the ability to autonomously and quietly conduct surveillance missions in urban areas, or in areas with dense obstacles, providing constant monitoring and surveillance for security and force protection

The US Air Force selected a team headed by UAV makers MBL, AAI, and Brigham Young University, to develop a vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle meeting Tier II size, weight and performance (SWAP).

Proactive cyber approaches to improve network defense in high-threat environments are part of a broader 'active defense' cyber security strategy lead by the White House. It has the potential to introduce dramatic improvement in information security but, would it also mean humans could be loosing control over their networks?

The US Air Force has decided to terminate the Blue Devil II Airship (BD2) project. Air Force representatives have given the prime contractor, MAV6 LLC, notice to discontinue work on the program due to unacceptable performance and recurring failures to meet minimum operating standards.