The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is "critical to being able to execute the emerging operational concepts" being honed by the Joint Staff for future conflict, Joseph Nogueira, acting CAPE director, says.
The Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) will let pilots to monitor, jam and deceive threats in contested airspace.
Onshoring and investment in military-specific semiconductors anchor a cornerstone of the defense industrial base.
At the moment, there are no plans to reduce the Air Force's plans to buy 1,763 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, says acting Air Force acquisition head Darlene Costello. But...
One of three current contenders for the LongShot program will be chosen to go into flight test, "based on the currently allocated budget," a DARPA spokesperson told Breaking D.
"Not sure if this is a black swan, but I would not be surprised if the next administration kicks off an internal review of the services’ roles and responsibilities, with an eye toward reducing excessive redundancy in force structure and capabilities," Mark Gunzinger says .
Authorizers want CAPE to assess costs and risks of the "aggressive and uncertain plan" Digital Century Series approach to acquire NGAD aircraft.
Explore how networked warfare, AI, and 3D-printed drones are reshaping US Indo-Pacific strategy.
"When you can launch an austere airbase in a space capsule, that's frickin' awesome," says AF acquisition head Will Roper about the idea of suborbital transport spacecraft.
"The business case is a naïve bet on out-year operating cost savings – that’s an act the Hill has seen before, and it never pays off," independent analyst Rebecca Grant says of the Digital Century Series concept.
"With a flattening budget topline (at best) and many competing Air Force investment priorities, it’s not at all clear that this program will continue. We might just be left with a museum-ready prototype," Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia says.
"All I can say is that the NGAD test flights have been amazing -- records have been broken," Will Roper says.
Modeling and simulation get an AI upgrade for more realistic training and improved autonomous platforms.
"I want to go fast. I want to go fast. I want to go fast," says CSAF Gen. Charles Brown about revamping the Air Force to meet Russian and Chinese threats.
Acquisition chief Will Roper wants to replicate the rapid-fire development of new fighter jets in the 1950s. He should focus on new drones instead.
Boeing's "selection, and the fact that the production line and all the technical infrastructure that is supporting the F-15EX will be in place for many years, makes the IAF's decision to procure new F-15s and perform a massive upgrade of the existing fleet easier," one senior Israeli source said.
The Air Force should field several iterations of improved drones before 2030 -- not just to replace the MQ-9 -- but to do everything from ISR to strike to counter-air missions.