U.S. Air Force (USAF)

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

U.S. autonomous aviation startup Reliable Robotics has announced the receipt of two new contract awards from the Department of Defense and NASA.

A final fiscal 2024 budget proposal ignores pleas from GE Aerospace to extend development of adaptive turbofan engines for two variants of the F-35C.

Facing a reduction to its expected budget next year, the military cuts back on near-term aircraft procurement.

The fifth test of the AGM-183A all-up round in 15 months yielded a familiarly vague statement from the Air Force about the results.

Joby Aviation has agreed to deliver two aircraft to MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, widening its existing partnership with the U.S. Air Force.

USAF plans to complete certification of the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk on its newest tanker, in spite of the fleet having been retired from “official” service.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) Thomas Stafford, who commanded NASA’s May 1969 Apollo 10 mission to the Moon and led the Apollo crew that participated in a historic linkup with Soviet cosmonauts, has died.

The U.S. Air Force is surveying industry for multiple categories of propulsion to power future tankers.

The U.S. Air Force’s Strike Eagles use new tech and training to focus on the Indo-Pacific after decades in the desert.

With major F-15 retirements and a reduction in F-15EX buys, the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of Eagles faces a rocky future.

Despite the schedule change appearing in budget documents, nothing has changed and the program’s status is still being assessed, an Air Force spokesperson said.

While the Pentagon remains vexed on the November crash, the U.S. Navy says progress is being made on the clutch issue.

The Holloman High Speed Test Track has been used to support the recent surge of hypersonic test activity, but it needs upgrades.

The U.S. Air Force has pushed back the in-service date by about another year for the Boeing T-7 Red Hawk to 2028.

The U.S. Air Force plans to increase the program of record for its KC-46 refueling tanker as it looks to accelerate a follow-on next generation replacement.

USAF is upping procurement spending on the B-21 Raider, though not as much as originally expected because of a favorable negotiated price with Northrop Grumman.

Procurement of the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation T-7 trainer is set to begin in fiscal 2025, but at half the number originally expected.

The ARRW is currently deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, where it is expected to be tested on a B-52 soon.

For the second time in less than two years, the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey fleet will return to flight after a grounding with a patchwork of mitigations.

The USAF may have to convert some F-35s with outdated avionics to combat roles due to the ongoing, “deeply concerning” delays with software certification.

The U.S. Air Force is evaluating bids from Airbus and Boeing for a planned replacement of the KC-135 ahead of a future tanker.

The U.S. Air Force wants the Raytheon Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) to transition to production ahead of any tests of the missile.

Reengining the C-17 and adding low-cost connectivity upgrades emerge as top priorities for Air Mobility Command.

The Pentagon will lift its more than 90-day grounding of the Bell Boeing V-22 tiltrotor fleet, the head of a House committee investigating the aircraft announced March 6.