U.S. Air Force News

While some enhancements are being made to the B1, the service does plan to phase out the aircraft as B-21s arrive and the B-52 advances its ability to fire hypersonic weapons.

The aircraft is now 70-years old and may fly into the coming decades due to a series of recent and upcoming upgrades

The B-21 modernization strategy is based upon common technical standards to ensure software upgrades and new weapons systems can be integrated without re-architecting the platform

The Air Force - Navy program, called QUICKSINK, fired a precision-guided GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) at the surface ship as part of what’s called a Joint Capability Technology Demonstration.

The Air Force is divesting older F-15s, F-16s and A-10s while the F-22 receives stealth extensive software upgrades to enhance its weapons performance.

B-21 manned-unmanned teaming introduces a wide range of new tactical possibilities to include increased dwell time over target areas and attacks over a wider engagement area

Through programs such as the Air Force’s Valkyrie drone, the service has already demonstrated the ability of an F-35 or F-22 to fly alongside of and operate drones

The Air Force plans to divest as many as 21 A-10s in 2023, according to the service’s budget request. This would make sense, given the rapid arrival of newly built F-35s.

The Navy is preparing new tests of its “pod” which attaches underneath the Fire Scout drone to help find mines by analyzing returns from EO/IR cameras in real-time

B-21 Raider stealth bombers, 6th-generation fighter jets and cruise missiles will function as integrated “nodes” within a larger interconnected “meshed” network via the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS)

Plans for the B-21 include evolving the platform into a family of systems likely to include manned-crews along with drones and even unmanned flight of the bomber itself

The Next-Generation Air Dominance Platform (NGAD) looks to incorporate new dimensions of speed, maneuverability, stealth properties, sensing and AI-enabled information processing

Preparation includes the prospect of some yet-to-exist systems such as space drones, lasers for missile defense and perhaps satellite fired weapons

The collective power of NATO and NATO-aligned F-35 countries could be positioned to greatly outmatch any fleet of Russian Su-57s.

A recap of the most widely-read stories from the week of February 6th. Topics include Germany and F-35s, Navy Drones and Big Deck Ships, and more.

A German F-35 could interoperate to a much greater degree with NATO allies and it might also introduce a new level of technological sophistication given the expected life of F-35s

Virtually all photos and renderings of the J-31, since first unveiled, revealed a striking resemblance to the U.S. F-35.

Regardless of a J-20’s speed, a key F-22 advantage is that it can reach supercruise speeds and sustain them without needing afterburners, a major technical enhancement.

TThe US has operational F-35s in Europe, Denmark received its first F-35, Norway and the UK fly combat ready F-35s and Poland, Switzerland and Finland are revving up their F-35s.

The Air Force "Rapid Raptor" program prepares four F-22s with crew members, C-17 support, fuel, maintenance and weapons to execute a fast-attack “first-strike” ability in remote or austere parts of the world.

The four-plus-one plan includes the 6th-generation aircraft, development of the F-35 as the force cornerstone, F-15EX and upgraded F-16, with the “plus one” being the A-10.

New long-range, high-speed, self-guiding weapons, combined with new stealth attributes or AI enabled sensors could help a U.S. 6th-Gen platform achieve overmatch for decades