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.
Russia’s Nov. 15 test of a direct ascent anti-satellite missile, which destroyed a satellite and created a new field of debris, shows the U.S. needs to change its approach to space situational awareness away from simply tracking what debris is already in orbit to actively looking for what might be trying to evade detection and new threats, top U.S. space officials said.
The U.S. Air Force wants to help the Japan Air Self-Defense Force with the development of its F-X fighter, to ensure it can be an active part of an effective defense network to protect against China.
The U.S. Air Force’s future refueling aircraft, beyond the KC-46 and upcoming bridge tanker, should get smaller, focus solely on refueling and rely more on automation to be more effective in a high-end, Pacific war scenario, a new think tank report argues.
