Air Force strategy to protect aircraft was designed for China. Will it work for Iran?
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the US had "maxed out" its defensive posture, but Iran managed to strike US aircraft in Saudi Arabia anyway.
Iran shows the emerging crisis of the US airborne battle management fleet
The aircraft that help orchestrate US air operations are in high demand, short supply and nearing a breaking point while the need for early warning and battle management is growing.
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Answering the demand signal to move faster, field sooner, iterate continuously
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
Following congressional rebuke, Air Force awards E-7 contracts
The new awards procure an undisclosed number of developmental aircraft and address diminishing manufacturing sources for the plane’s radar.
With funding flush, Space Force hopes to speed satellites to track aircraft, missiles
Gen. Chance Saltzman, Space Force chief, said the work already done to design a satellite system for tracking ground targets should also help speed AMTI capabilities to orbit.
EXCLUSIVE: SDA eyeing airborne target tracking satellites demonstration, says Tournear
"I would say that we are at the point now where the technology has matured and it's commoditized, so that radar based AMTI from space is feasible," outgoing SDA Director Derek Tournear told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview.
Space Force launching sats to ‘enable’ GMTI ahead of mission-dedicated birds in 2028
Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, the Space Force’s deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber and nuclear, also said the service expects to complete an analysis of alternatives by this fall for a separate but related effort to track airborne targets from the heavens.
Modernizing defense enterprise IT without disrupting the mission
Government can’t stop to update systems, so modernization has to happen without interruptions.
Space Force testing space-based sensors to track airborne targets
Space-based capabilities could put current aerial tracking platforms in question, but top military brass have argued for options "from whatever domain or platform or system that comes [in]."
Air Force eyes ‘Advanced E-7’ Wedgetail with upgrades including new radar
A request for information released by the service raises the possibility of integrating new upgrades on a platform “equivalent” to the E-7, though it’s not clear what that could be.
Space Force vice wants sats to track aircraft by early 2030s
One of the key challenges for tracking enemy aircraft from space is that airplanes and drones move much faster than tanks, trucks and ships; confounded by the fact that satellites themselves also move around the Earth extremely fast.
Air Force, Boeing finalize deal for E-7 Wedgetail at $2.6 billion for 2 planes
The hefty pricetag comes in part due to the need to integrate US-specific requirements on planes already flown by American allies, the company and the Air Force have said.
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.
US approves $2.8 billion in logistics, sustainment for Saudi Arabia
The potential deal includes support for US-made aircraft like C-130 transport planes, E-3 surveillance aircraft and Bell helicopters.
Air Force picks ‘resilient’ GPS, MTI for Kendall’s ‘quick start’ push
Production of an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft has also slipped by a year, according to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
Boeing aims for annual output of 6 E-7 Wedgetails to fill global early warning ‘gap’
As Breaking Defense toured Boeing's Seattle area facilities where the E-7 radar plane will take shape, company officials talked about getting the bird in the air — and their vision for what it can do.
‘Much better chance’ USAF can retire F-22s in FY24: Kendall
Rejected by Congress in fiscal 2023, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service’s second go at retiring older F-22s stands a much better chance of surviving the upcoming round of budget negotiations.