Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining Aviation Week in August 2021, Brian covered the Pentagon for Air Force Magazine. Brian began covering defense aviation in 2011 as a reporter for Military Times. Over a decade as a defense journalist, he has reported from dozens of bases at home and abroad, including austere airstrips in Afghanistan, the cockpit of a B-52 over the South Pacific and the boom operator station of a KC-46. Before the military beat, Brian covered the Washington state legislature for the Associated Press.
The U.S. Air Force’s surprise plan to cut to its buy of Sikorsky HH-60W helicopters comes as the service is conducting an internal, wargames-based review of what the future of the combat search and rescue mission will become.
The U.S. Air Force faces a fight on Capitol Hill as it looks to get rid of dozens more of its aircraft while readily acknowledging that comes with instant risk.
