Budget, Policy & Operations

The end of the F-16’s operational service in the Netherlands has moved a step closer with the type’s withdrawal from domestic air policing operations.

U.S. Air Force F-35As began operations at Lask Air Base, Poland, on April 1 to bolster the air presence on NATO’s eastern front.

The Pacific deployment is intended to build interoperability between the three partner nations in the next-generation European Future Combat Air System.

Future battlefields with dispersed units and contested logistics are driving DARPA’s new portfolio of disruptive investments.

The U.S. is marshaling unprecedented resources to shore up its chipmaking capabilities. Results thus far are mixed.

After years of scattered attempts to keep pilots in service failed to change the trend, the Air Force is renewing outreach to its aircrews.

The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act directed the secretary of defense to secure critical minerals from “reliable sources.”

Of the 215 used fighters expected to transfer ownership in the coming decade, 132 of them (about 61%) will be F-16s, according to Aviation Week’s Fleet Discovery Military database.

Poland has submitted a letter of request to Washington for a midlife upgrade for the country’s Lockheed Martin F-16s.

The Space Force is starting market R&D of an acquisition strategy for a new constellation of protected communication satellites.

Now in its fourth year, the European Commission-led EDF aims to support defense research, development and cooperation among member states.

Combined spending on procurement and RDT&E will reach 36.6% of overall U.S. defense spending in fiscal 2027, a level not seen since the end of the Cold War.

After observing the battlefield effectiveness of UAS in Ukraine and Gaza, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry has shared plans to improve its uncrewed capabilities.

The Japanese cabinet has relaxed the country’s arms export restrictions.

South Korea will spend close to $6 billion on 40 KF-21s and related infrastructure and armaments through 2028.

The agency’s disruptive approach to space acquisition has produced many contracts in a tight timeline, though its biggest tests are yet to come.

The U.S. government says it welcomes a decision this week by a new Argentinian government to acquire an undisclosed number of used F-16s from Denmark.

Adm. John C. Aquilino, leader of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, warns of China’s rapid military buildup and its ability to strike beyond the first island chain.

Development of a new Chinese heavy attack helicopter in the 10-ton class appears to be well underway, as evidenced by photographs that have surfaced online.

Recent and deepening cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic has underscored Canada’s sense of urgency in building out its ISR and maritime ISR capabilities.

House and Senate appropriators seek to add dozens of aircraft to the Pentagon’s budget in a last-minute plan that needs to pass ahead of the March 22 deadline.

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

The U.S. Navy and Boeing have resolved an impasse on intellectual property and data rights around the F/A-18 which will extend production for about two years.

Indian Air Force investigators are probing the March 12 crash of a Tejas light combat aircraft—the first such accident since the type’s initial test flight.

The Pentagon’s top leaders on March 19 pressed international partners to surge more aid to Ukraine.