The U.S. Air Force intends to reactivate the squadron that performed the pre-operational tests of the B-2 Spirit aircraft to support the flight test phase for the military service's future B-21 Raider bomber plane. B-21 prime contractor Northrop Grumman is building the test aircraft at a production facility in Palmdale, Calif., the Air Force said Monday.
Read More »Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray Nominated to Lead Air Force Global Strike Command
President Donald Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray, deputy commander of the U.S. European Command, to be the next leader of the Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale AF Base in Louisiana. The Defense Department said Thursday that Ray is also up for a potential rank promotion to general. If confirmed, he would …
Read More »Air Force Unveils Plans to Maintain Bomber Fleet
The U.S. Air Force has detailed its plans to update its existing bomber fleet and acquire new aircraft in the fiscal year 2019 budget request. The military branch said Monday it aims to modernize the B-52 Stratofortress fleet; continue installing upgrades on the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit aircraft; and acquire the future …
Read More »Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris: Air Force Eyes 165-Bomber Fleet
Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements at the U.S. Air Force, has told lawmakers that the service branch wants to have 165 aircraft in its future bomber fleet, DoD Buzz reported Monday. Members of the House Armed Services Committee’s Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee asked Harris …
Read More »Ashton Carter, Joseph Dunford: DoD Needs to Avoid Sequestration to Address 5 Strategic Challenges
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has said the Defense Department needs to avoid sequestration in order to fund critical investments amid the five global challenges the U.S. currently faces, DoD News reported Thursday. Lisa Ferdinando writes Carter cited terrorism, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as the strategic challenges that direct …
Read More »Pentagon Details $583B Military Spending Plan for Fiscal 2017
The Defense Department is seeking about $523.9 billion in base budget for fiscal 2017 and another $58.8 billion to fund overseas contingency operations, Defense News reported Tuesday. Andrew Clevenger writes DoD’s proposed fiscal 2017 budget of $582.7 billion represents a 0.4-percent increase from fiscal 2016’s enacted $580.3 billion budget. The budget includes $7.5 billion to finance operations against …
Read More »William LaPlante: Air Force Works to Balance Program Costs, Schedules
Outgoing Air Force acquisition chief William LaPlante has said the branch’s program managers always look for ways to balance scheduling and budgeting strategies when the military service develops or procures technology, National Defense Magazine reported Tuesday. LaPlante is due to leave the Air Force this week and will rejoin Mitre to serve …
Read More »Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski: Air Force Eyes Streamlined Acquisition Process From Bomber Program Lessons
The U.S. Air Force has begun to adopt some of the lessons learned from the Long Range Strike Bomber program in an effort to promote best practices and achieve efficiency in the acquisition process, Defense News reported Sunday. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, head of the Air Force Materiel Command, said the service …
Read More »SASC Includes Super Hornet, F-35 Funds in FY 2016 Defense Bill Markup
The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved its version of a fiscal year 2016 defense spending bill that would fund the acquisition of 12 F/A-18 Super Hornet jets from Boeing and six F-35 planes from Lockheed Martin, Reuters reported Thursday. Andrea Shalal writes the bill would give $1.2 billion to the U.S. Navy for the Super Hornets and …
Read More »Report: DoD, State Dept Eye 2015 Contract Awards
The federal government plans to re-compete several major contracts and make award decisions for new programs in the coming year, the Washington Post reported Sunday. Amrita Jayakumar writes the U.S. Air Force could issue the Long-Range Strike Bomber contract this spring and the U.S. Army is slated to award a …
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