WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Air Force restructures its aircraft inventory to compete with China, the service is taking calculated risks in its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft portfolio, a top general said Wednesday.
In its fiscal 2022 budget request, the Air Force proposed mothballing four of its 16 E-8 JSTARS aircraft, which are used for ground surveillance and targeting…
How Japan chose where to base its F-35s
July 21, 2021
MELBOURNE, Australia – Japan’s defense minister has confirmed that the U.S. ally will base its Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning II Short Take off and Vertical Landing or STOVL fighter jets at the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands.
Nobuo Kishi, the Japanese…
Dr. Richard Thomas, president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, makes his remarks during the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Program intern graduation in the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth auditorium in Portsmouth, Virginia, June 21, 2019. (Petty…
The number of major F-35 flaws is shrinking, but the Pentagon is keeping details of the problems under wraps
July 17, 2021
WASHINGTON — As the F-35 program inches its way through operational testing, the number of critical technical deficiencies is slowly dwindling, dropping from 11 critical deficiencies in January to seven in July.
However, the exact nature of these problems will remain unknown to the public, even when the deficiency itself is not classified. The F-35 Joint Program Office declined to…
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s defense minister announced Wednesday that the country will buy 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks from the U.S. to counter Russian military capabilities, confirming previous reports of a planned acquisition.
“So we are ordering the most modern…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy and the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office are making the most of the remaining months of their partnership on the Ghost Fleet Overlord unmanned surface vessel program, taking lessons learned from two recent voyages across the Panama…
WASHINGTON — House appropriators hope to slash funding for the U.S. Air Force’s leading hypersonic missile effort in fiscal 2022, citing increased risk as the program moves from flight testing into production.
The Air Force is seeking about $161 million in FY22 to produce the first 12 AGM-183A Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) missiles, which would become the first hypersonic…
WASHINGTON — The Air Force has approved the Boeing KC-46 tanker to move into limited operations with its centerline drogue system, allowing the aircraft to be tasked for everyday refueling missions that meet certain criteria.
Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, the head of Air…
Poland could purchase M1 Abrams tanks from US
July 10, 2021
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Defence Ministry is reportedly preparing to buy about 250 M1 Abrams tanks from the United States, two months after it announced plans to buy 24 Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones.
Two sources close to the deal told Polish news site Gazeta.pl that…
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s state-controlled missile-maker Roketsan has developed a supersonic, anti-radiation missile for the TF-X, the country’s indigenous fighter jet in the making.
The missile, dubbed Akbaba (or “vulture” in English), was included in the ammunitions list of the TF-X at a Turkish Air Force briefing on June 30.
The Akbaba program is classified, and Roketsan’s…
