c-17

Boeing sees 5G, drone inspectors and augmented reality training key to future aircraft maintenance

Boeing officials recently demonstrated two separate efforts with the Air Force focused on aircraft mission and training readiness.

AMC Eyes Self-Defense For Cargo, Tanker Planes

"We have hardpoints on the C-17; We have hardpoints on the KC-46. It's not a hard stretch to think that we could put one or two missiles on there for self defense," says AMC head Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost.

Air Force Culls ABMS Experiment After Budget Cut

The sixth ABMS onramp "was going to be in partnership with Australia, and allies and partners, in the Pacific Rim," Air Force Chief Architect Preston Dunlap said, but "just due to the budget constraints, we had to pull the plug on that."

AFRL Moves To Equip Cargo Planes With Bombs In a Box

WASHINGTON: With its latest contract to Lockheed Martin, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has taken another step in its effort to rapidly develop a capability to drop bombs and launch cruise missiles to augment the shrinking fleet of long-range bombers.  The Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contract, announced yesterday and worth $25 million over 18 […]

Tankers, Transports Need Real-Time Threat Data To Survive: AMC

As Air Mobility Command looks to connect its aircraft to high-speed battle networks like ABMS, it is still struggling to get its KC-46 tankers working properly.

Air Force Weaponizing Cargo Planes For All-Domain Ops: ‘Bomb Bay In A Box’

"You've got to create enough capacity so that long-range punch is really a punch," Maj. Gen. Clint Hinote said.

OMFV: The Army’s Polish Bridge Problem

The Army has struggled for decades to fit armored vehicles on airplanes. The real challenge is getting them across rickety Soviet-era bridges in Eastern Europe.

Bradley Replacement: Did Army Ask For ‘Unobtainium’?

General Dynamics’ cancelled OMFV prototype could only meet the requirement for armor protection by growing too heavy to meet the requirement for air transport, sources say. So which will the Army give up?

CSIS Bad Idea: Blaming OCO for Defense Budget Blunders

In other words, the fault is not with the OCO mechanism, but in many cases, with members of Congress who are critiquing its use.

Air Force Pushes 3D Printing To Boost Readiness

Air Force LCMC is working to ensure that far-flung depots eventually can print their own parts -- with a recent first being Travis AFB's using their brand, spanking new laser printer to print those toilet seat covers built of a new-fangled polymer from it's own brand new printer. 

Acting SecAF & Roper Likely Head To Paris Show, With F-35A

Amid chatter about what aircraft will make their way to Paris, the Air Force going all in.

Back Off, Iran: US & Israel Complete Groundbreaking Missile Defense Exercise

For the first time, the US plugged its high-altitude THAAD into the Israeli missile defense network -- just one of the ways the two countries are cooperating against Iran.

Mitchell Weighs In: More F-35s or New, Old F-15s?

Fifth gen or fourth gen? F-35A or F-15X. Stealth, sensors and fusion or lots of missiles? Lockheed or Boeing? See what the Mitchell Institute says.

Hold Joint Armed Services-Foreign Relations Defense Hearings

The best way for America to develop a consensus on what our defense and global security commitments should be is for Congress to have a lengthy series of posture hearings that delve deeply into these issues.    They could be jointly held by the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees from the two chambers, patterned […]