fixed wing

Pentagon To Retire USS Truman Early, Shrinking Carrier Fleet To 10

The move could save more than $30 billion over 25 years to invest in high-tech weapons -- but Congress is sure to explode in outrage.

F-35 LRIP 11 Signed: $89M For An F-35A, Including Engine — But SC Crash Casts Shadow

102 F-35As (Air Force) for $89.2 million apiece, down 5.4 percent from LRIP 10; 25 F-35Bs (Marines & Royal Navy) for $115.5 million each, down 5.7 percent; and 14 F-35Cs (US Navy) for $107.7 million each, down 11.1 percent.

What Will New Bomber Squadrons Mean For Air Force? 75 More B-21s?

So reporters kept pressing Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff David Goldfein for answers to the reasonable question: How will the Air Force afford 74 more squadrons with all the people, planes, satellites, and infrastructure needed to make them useful?

Aircraft Win Big In FY19 Appropriations: Munitions, Space, Marines Hammered

The big news about the $674.4 billion defense appropriation that conferees agreed to yesterday is that, for the first time in nine years, it's on time. But in a budget this big, even the "small" items are billions of dollars, and there are plenty of devils in them thar details.

Navy Enters Drone Age, Taps Boeing for MQ-25

Loaded with jet fuel, the drones will vastly extend the ranges of carrier-based aircraft operating in the expanses of the western Pacific. That lets the Navy strike deeper into China's layered defenses while keeping the big decks out of range of most of China's anti-ship missiles.

Australia Broadens Its Military Relationships With Shipbuilding Deals

  CANBERRA: As the Chinese challenge grows, Australia is clearly concerned about expanded Chinese influence within Australia and with regard to Chinese efforts to reshape the external environment to expand the influence and power of the Chinese authoritarian state. Clearly the United States remains Australia’s core ally in dealing with the Chinese challenge, but as […]

Despite Trump’s Rhetoric, U.S. Defense Firms Pitch Moving Production To India

As big defense firms line up to pitch their fighter planes to India, the government of Narendra Modi is demanding they build in India, something that might be at odds with the Trumpian America First philosophy.

Navy’s New EW Jammer to be Ready in 2022

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW The U.S. Navy hopes to start flying its Next Generation Jammer some time next year, though the system won’t reach operational capability until 2022, said Navy Capt. Michael Orr, program manager for the service’s electronic attack systems. As it stands now the Navy’s principal airborne electronic attack systems relies on technology developed […]

Army Anti-Aircraft Stryker Can Kill Tanks Too

With its eyes firmly on Russia, the US Army is racing to field 8×8 Strykers with an array of weapons that can down enemy aircraft — from drones to helicopters to jets — and incidentally make enemy tanks think twice. The first prototypes will be delivered next year, with up to 144 (four battalions) by […]

Navy, Boeing Tout Block III Super Hornet As Partner For F-35

Once touted by President Trump himself as an alternative to the F-35, the souped-up Super Hornet is now firmly established as its partner.

Sen. Reed Presses Wilson, Goldfein On JSTARS Plans

In a hearing this morning, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, said he’s skeptical about the current plan to retire the JSTARS radar surveillance plane because the Air Force has been inconsistent, not just about JSTARS, but a host of other programs.

Eyes On Vulnerable AWACS, Rivet Joint, Etc., Air Force Studies replacements

AFA ORLANDO: The Air Force, which relies on large vulnerable targets known as JSTARS, AWACS, Rivet Joint and other aircraft, knows it may need to shift its reliance on big, largely indefensible planes to fused networks of sensors as they are doing with JSTARS. That was the word from Gen. Mike Holmes here today when […]

SecAF Says B-21 ‘On Schedule’ As China Rises To Air Force’s Top Threat

PENTAGON: It’s explicit: China is the Air Force’s “pacing threat.” That was the clearest message from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, who met with the press the day after the Pentagon budget’s release. China’s rapid modernization is driving the Air Force to respond, Wilson said, though she declined to detail any of the service’s efforts […]

Navy Buys Lots More Fighters; Ships Up Slightly But 355 Not In Sight

PENTAGON: The U.S. Navy’s budget is growing by over $12 billion in 2019, and more ships are on their way – but not enough to get to the hoped-for 355-ship fleet any time before the 2050s. In unveiling its $194.1 billion budget for the 2019 fiscal year on Monday, Navy officials highlighted the increase in […]