Several lawmakers are continuing to raise concerns about the decision to base U.S. Space Command’s headquarters in Alabama even after the Defense Department Inspector General on May 10 issued its findings that the Air Force’s choice was reasonable.
The U.S. Navy already appears to be wavering on its plan to divest five squadrons of Boeing EA-18G electronic attack jets over the next three years, with the squadrons remaining in demand and a lack of capacity in carrier-based units to pick up the slack.
The South Korean Air Force is preparing to purchase 60 additional fighters to replace older aircraft five years sooner than planned. The service operates about 100 F-4s and F-5s. It plans to operate the F-4s until 2024 and the F-5s until 2031, which would keep the older aircraft in use for more than 40 years.
Australia has moved ahead with plans to acquire Apache attack helicopters and will further bolster the country’s fleet of MH-60R maritime helicopters, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced.
The Pentagon expects to go to Congress with a supplemental funding request next year to increase its budget if inflation continues at a high rate, and a senior defense official is cautioning against lawmakers adding more unsustainable spending for fiscal 2023 as a simple step to address inflation.
Switzerland’s government is committed to signing a contract to buy its planned fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters by the end of March 2023, before an offer deadline expires.
The U.S. Army has delayed key milestones for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program by up to four years, budget and solicitation documents show.
Poland has said it will protect Slovakia’s airspace should the latter decide to ground its fleet of MiG-29s and transfer the fighter aircraft to Ukraine.
The Pentagon is sending new rotations of fighter aircraft to NATO’s eastern front as the U.S. and other allies continue to airlift large amounts of aid into the region for Ukraine.
If in past years the U.S. Air Force was hedging its bets on notional, more affordable aircraft designs, it is now embracing the strategy of high-end air power to counter China, placing its dollars behind the F-35 fighter, the B-21 bomber and the future Next Generation Air Dominance fighter family.
Aviation Week editors make sense of recommended reductions to the number of F-35 and F-15EX fighters the U.S. Air Force plan to buy in the coming years.
The F-35 program is struggling to find enough funding to fully stand up and resource the jet’s depots because the Pentagon’s habit of underfunding the maintenance facilities while expecting cost reductions in contract negotiations is not playing out as expected, the program executive says.
Northrop Grumman is progressing on workforce absenteeism issues that plagued its F-35 program over the winter, and otherwise does not see particular problems elsewhere in its portfolio due to ongoing inflation, labor, pandemic or war-related issues, the large prime’s chief executive said April 28.
President Joe Biden on April 28 requested $33 billion from Congress for aid to Ukraine, a dramatic increase from ongoing spending to support Kyiv in its fight against Russia, and specifically highlights a need for anti-aircraft and advanced air defense systems.
