Budget impasse risks ‘Doomsday’ plane delay, SNC says
“I'm ramping up my work. I'm adding new facilities, I'm adding infrastructure, I'm adding cost. That cost has to be carried by someone,” SNC’s Jon Piatt told Breaking Defense.
Secret Space Force payloads monitor China’s satellite surveillance network, official says
Kelly Hammett, director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, said his organization risks being “inordinately impacted" by workforce reductions underway with the Trump administration.
Breaking Defense announces Breaking Defense Europe, a new, distinct, European edition
Breaking Defense Europe will launch May 4 with Tim Martin and Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo as co-editors.
Anduril and Zone 5 Technologies advance for Air Force, DIU Enterprise Test Vehicle
Lockheed Martin now has its own air vehicle offering that could compete for a follow-on effort to the Enterprise Test Vehicle program.
EXCLUSIVE: Lockheed out of Navy’s F/A-XX future fighter competition
A source with knowledge of the program told Breaking Defense that Lockheed submitted a bid for the next-gen fighter effort, but the proposal did not satisfy the Navy’s criteria, leaving Boeing and Northrop Grumman as the remaining competitors.
Air Force fields FMS inquiries for MH-139 Grey Wolf helo as test campaign progresses
“As we look at the program moving forward, we’re also excited [about] the interest and the demand signal that we’re seeing, both domestically and from potential customers around the world,” Boeing official Azeem Khan told Breaking Defense.
Space Systems Command chief backs ‘important’ work of Space Development Agency
Elsewhere, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said his top priority is "space control," a term that for many years was verboten at the Pentagon.
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America must adopt a Sixth Domain of warfare doctrine
The Sixth Domain is not defined by geography. It’s a new kind of conflict in which autonomy and networked systems allow thousand-dollar consumer electronics to destroy multi-million-dollar conventional weapons systems.
Empty seats as Air Force limits AFA attendance, in line with ‘spirit’ of DOGE orders
“I think the question is whether this is a temporary thing, or whether it becomes permanent,” one industry official told Breaking Defense.
Air Force pauses deliveries of Boeing’s KC-46 tanker
The decision to pause deliveries was made on Feb. 27 by the service’s KC-46A program office “due to the identification of in the ‘outboard fixed-trailing-edge support structure’” of the two planes, an Air Force spokesperson said.
How Metrea hopes to grow the private air refueling market
After refueling with the American company Metrea for a deployment to the Indo-Pacific, the German Luftwaffe told Breaking Defense that "commercial AAR [air-to-air refueling] is also a valid option for future deployments.”
‘Let’s be frank’: Hegseth’s budget shakeup will be ‘painful’ but there’s ‘hope,’ Air Force official says
As questions hang over the future of the service’s Next Generation Air Dominance stealth jet, Maj. Gen. Joseph Kunkel, the Air Force’s director of force design and wargaming, said that “the fight looks much better when NGAD is in it.”
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Why enterprise IT modernization matters now – and how to “delight by design”
Do more with less: streamline workflows, reduce duplication, invest upfront to save long-term.
Hegseth fires Navy’s top officer, Air Force No. 2
The firings of Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Gen. James Slife follows tonight's removal of Gen. CQ Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
GE, Pratt clear key design milestone, begin building next-gen engine prototypes
The two companies are facing off under the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program, which is developing a powerplant for an Air Force next-generation fighter — assuming one comes to pass.
Trump ‘clearly not happy’ with delivery schedule for new Air Force One jets, Boeing CEO says
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk is “helping us in a big way” to speed up the schedule for the two planes, as setbacks risk delaying their delivery until after Trump leaves office.
Air Force awards Pratt $1.5 billion to keep F-22s flying
The three-year sustainment deal covers over 400 F119 engines that power the F-22 Raptor fleet.