Military Aviation

The Air Force says it wants stealthy tankers in the air by 2040 to improve its chances of pressing a battle in the far-flung locations that are often the site of such conflicts. One of its main constraints is that its tankers are sitting ducks for even the most rudimentary anti-aircraft munitions. The Air Force […]

Part of the envelope of a Chinese balloon shot down off Myrtle Beach was reportedly seen in a boat at a boat launch near the city as the Navy and Coast Guard work to recover what’s left of the balloon’s sensors and power system. An Air Force F-22 shot down the balloon off the coast […]

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a $2.3 billion contract for 15 additional KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft. Boeing delivered the first KC-46As to the Air Force in 2019 and the aircraft was approved for global operations last year. According to Boeing, 128 Pegasus tankers are currently on contract with the Air Force with 68 […]

The Navy has awarded Textron a fixed-price contract of $677 million to develop and build a new fleet of multi-engine training aircraft based on the King Air 300/350. The contract includes development of the T-54A Multi Engine Training System and the eventual delivery of 64 aircraft. The contract includes initial training, spare parts and support […]

Sikorsky has handed over its 5,000th “Hawk” medium-lift utility helicopter with the delivery of a UH-60M Black Hawk to the U.S. Army on Friday. The first production Black Hawk was accepted by the Army in 1978 and entered service the following year. Alongside the U.S. Army, which currently operates more than 2,100 Black Hawks, Sikorsky […]

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has announced that it will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of special events and exhibits throughout 2023. Among the plans are special exhibits on enlisted forces, search and rescue (SAR) and the evolution of the museum itself. Other scheduled events include monthly gallery features, micro-drone […]

The Government of Canada has finalized an agreement with the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin to acquire 88 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Valued at C$19 billion ($14.3 billion), the deal also includes associated equipment, sustainment setup and services and the construction of fighter squadron facilities in Bagotville […]

The officially retired F-117 stealth fighter will fly long into retirement, according to a Request For Information issued by the Air Force and uncovered by msn.com. In the document, the USAF is asking potential contractors to maintain an unspecified number of Nighthawks in stealthy flying condition until at least 2034. The type was retired from […]

Lockheed Martin has finalized a contract with the U.S government’s F-35 Joint Program Office for as many as 398 additional F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. Valued at up to $30 billion, the agreement includes aircraft for the U.S. military, international partners and foreign military sales. The F-35s produced for the contract will be the first […]

China is hitting back at U.S. claims that one of its fighter pilots behaved recklessly in an intercept over the South China Sea last week. The Air Force released video on Thursday of a Chinese Navy J-11 flying close to one of its RC-135 intelligence-gathering aircraft. The Air Force claimed the intercept was unsafe and […]