Air Force Magazine

The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week. “That is where we’re headed on just about every platform going forward,” Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John Lamontagne said June 4 at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “ …

The House Armed Services Committee approved its annual defense policy bill June 5 after a marathon markup session that saw scores of amendments added to the bill—including one that would bar the Air Force from retiring any E-3 Sentry aircraft through fiscal 2027. The amendment to the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization bill, introduced by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), aims to preserve the Air Force’s small but precious airborne battle management capabilities. It would also require the serv

Air Education and Training Command has ticked off another box on the long checklist it must complete to start training student pilots on the new T-7A Red Hawk: qualifying its first instructor pilots. The command announced the milestone June 3. Lt. Col. Michael Trott and Lt. Col. Phillip Bourquin are the command and director of operations, respectively, for the 99th Flying Training Squadron and have been familiarizing themselves with the T-7 since the unit accepted its first jet in December.

The Air Force and Space Force are asking for funds to hire more than 6,000 civilians in fiscal 2027, a sharp reversal from a year ago when the budget request slashed about 5,700 full-time jobs. About 70 percent of the new civilian jobs included in the Department of the Air Force’s budget request aim to fill vacancies created by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency commission or related executive orders. Air & Space Forces Magazine’s analysis last year of c

The command center that ran America’s air campaigns in the Middle East for over two decades took a direct hit during the U.S. war with Iran and was severely damaged, a senior U.S. official and other people informed about the attack told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The facility was not in use at the time and no injuries were reported. Multiple Iranian missiles struck the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar during the early weeks of the war, rendering it inoperable.

The Air Force is seeking to buy around 108 new aircraft in fiscal 2027—though really, officials wish they could get more. The issue isn’t just more money, according to the service’s No. 2 officer; contractors just aren’t able to produce enough aircraft at the present moment, Gen. John Lamontagne said June 4 at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “It’s [about] how quickly can industry respond to our demand signal? And right now, I’d say our demand signal

House lawmakers want the Space Force to buy more technology and services from commercial companies, evidenced in a handful of amendments approved as part of the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.  The bill, which the committee debated in a June 4 markup session, now includes at least five amendments that would require studies and plans to incorporate technology from nontraditional firms into missions like space domain awareness

The Air Force would keep all of its 184 F-22 Raptors until at least the end of fiscal 2032 under an amendment added to the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization bill. In a June 4 markup, the committee approved by voice vote a plethora of amendments related to the Air Force and its fleet. They include provisions that would allow the Air Force to buy more F-15EX Eagle II fighters and find new ways to accomplish the A-10 Warthog’s missions—including poten

Boeing has completed initial flight testing on its redesigned Remote Vision System for the KC-46 tanker, the defense giant announced June 4. The new system, dubbed RVS 2.0, is meant to replace the original camera and video system boom operators use to refuel other aircraft, which has faced issues for years now. RVS 2.0 first flew in November 2025 on a modified test aircraft, kicking off months of validation tests. Boeing and the Air Force confirmed these tests were “non-contact,” meanin

The fiscal 2027 defense budget request comes at a crucial time for a game-changing new military capability: The Air Force’s plan to develop a whole new kind of combat aircraft, the autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft. The Air Force wants about $1 billion to move the CCA program into production in fiscal 2027 and accelerate the introduction of this game-changing technology. Congress should support that objective. Here’s why: With today’s U.S. Air Force inventory both too old and too sm

The U.S. is reducing the number of forces it is prepared to commit to NATO in a crisis, U.S. European Command said in a June 3 announcement that has stirred debate at home and abroad.  The changes, which were previewed to alliance members last month by a senior Pentagon official, appear to include a decrease in the number of combat aircraft, air-to-air refueling, and Navy vessels that would be sent to defend the alliance during a crisis or conflict under the so-called NATO Force Model.&n

The Air Force has awarded contracts to General Electric Aerospace and Rolls-Royce to further hone their designs for engines to power medium-thrust autonomous drones. GE announced in a May 19 release that it received a contract to complete a preliminary design review for its GE426 engine, supporting the Air Force’s medium thrust class Autonomous Collaborative Platform, or ACP, project. An Air Force spokesperson also confirmed in a statement to Air & Space Forces Magazine that Rolls-Royc

The Air Force plans to spend $213 million on its CV-22 fleet in fiscal 2027, about one-fifth of a $1.12 billion investment in the tiltrotor aircraft across the Pentagon. Air Force budget documents show plans to install new proprotor gearboxes built from an improved steel alloy to fix the same critical parts that failed, leading to a deadly 2023 crash in Japan, as well as a costly 2024 mishap in New Mexico. “The V-22 [Joint Program Office], working with our industry partners at Bell-Boeing,

The idea to establish a new military service dedicated to cyber warfare reared its head again this week thanks to a proposal in Congress and a think tank report. But essential questions about how a so-called “Cyber Force” would be manned and work with the other services remain. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) plans to introduce an amendment to the 2027 defense policy bill establishing a Cyber Force under the Department of the Army, her office confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine. De

The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire on June 2 in an intense back-and-forth, marking the fifth day in just over a week that the two nations traded blows. Iran launched drones and missiles at U.S. forces and commercial shipping, and the U.S. responded by shooting down the projectiles and launching airstrikes on Iranian military facilities.  American officials insist that an “ongoing ceasefire” between the two sides remains in effect. But the fresh round of fighting amid the stalled diploma

The May 28 explosion of a Blue Origin rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., is the largest the installation has seen in its history, according to the commander of the range.  Col. Brian Chatman, commander of Space Launch Delta 45, told reporters June 2 that despite the unprecedented nature of the anomaly, the base’s safety precautions before and after the incident helped contain its impact on personnel and on the broader installation. “What that identifies is that we’ve

The Air Force’s primary fighter fleet dipped below the minimum allowable size under law earlier this year—and that fact should rally a “call to action” for the nation to reinvest in its airpower, a key lawmaker said June 2.  Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), a former F-22 pilot now serving in Congress, is sounding the alarm. “This is the moment I think that Congress needs to take action,” Pfluger said during an interview at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “Just th

The Air Force has dubbed its follow-on to the Massive Ordnance Penetrator the GBU-76/B and is seeking contractors to potentially help design, build, and support the next-generation bunker-busting bomb. Air Force Materiel Command posted a sources sought notice for the Next-Generation Penetrator, the alternate name for the GBU-76/B, on June 1. The GBU-76/B is intended to succeed the GBU-57 MOP, which the Air Force used in June 2025 to strike deeply buried Iranian nuclear facilities as part o

In 1972, with the Air Force losing hundreds of Airmen and aircraft in the Vietnam War, Maj. Robert “Bob” Alfred Lodge led a complete overhaul of F-4 fighter tactics, a secret effort that would help U.S. pilots gain the upper hand in dogfights with North Vietnamese MiGs. And when his F-4 was hit on the first day of Operation Linebacker, Lodge refused to bail out, perishing with his doomed aircraft to keep his intimate knowledge of those tactics and plans out of enemy hands. Fifty-four years la

Nearly 4,500 Airmen are set to promote to master sergeant and join the senior noncommissioned officer corps in 2026, the Air Force Personnel Center announced June 1. Officials selected 4,475 technical sergeants for promotion out of a pool of 21,552 candidates, putting the selection rate at 20.76 percent. The full list of those promoted will be released on AFPC’s website on June 4 at 9 a.m. Eastern time. Airmen typically spend about 14 years in uniform before reaching the rank of master