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. Marine Corps has flown more than 75 hr. in a modified MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor to evaluate Bell Boeing’s nacelle upgrades, as two of the Air Force’s variants have completed changes.
The U.S. Air Force needs to update its operating locations around the globe to be able to surge and operate combat aircraft under duress. So the service is starting an in-depth review of how this will happen, and it might not be easy. Or cheap.