Air Force Archives - Defense Daily

Space Force Awards Viasat And Intelsat General $438 Million For Continued Work On PTS-G

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:42:39 +0000

U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command has awarded Viasat [VSAT] and Intelsat General–the U.S. division of Luxembourg’s SES–a nearly $438 million contract for satellites under the Protected Tactical Satellite-Global (PTS-G) […]

Rocket Lab To Design, Build And Operate Two GEO Satellites For Space Domain Awareness Under $90 Million Contract

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 22 May 2026 18:26:22 +0000

The Space Force’s Space Systems Command has awarded Rocket Lab [RKLB] a $90 million contract to design, build and operate for up to five years two geostationary (GEO) satellites with […]

YFQ-42A Dark Merlin Resumes Flight Tests for CCA Program

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:24:58 +0000

The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) YFQ-42A Dark Merlin prototype drone for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program has resumed flight testing, the Air Force and the […]

FAMM More Than Two-Thirds Of Munitions Buy In Air Force FYDP

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 21 May 2026 20:56:20 +0000

The Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) represents more than two-thirds of the more than 39,000 munitions in the Air Force’s future years defense plan (FYDP). At a Thursday Senate […]

SSC And SpaceWERX To Launch Orbital Logistics Challenge

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 20 May 2026 21:40:46 +0000

The Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and the service’s SpaceWERX innovation arm are to launch an In-Domain Orbital Logistics Challenge to find and advance commercial technologies to sustain satellites. […]

MQ-9 Strikes in Iran Far Outnumber Those of Other Platforms, USAF Chief Says

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:14:03 +0000

The number of air to ground strikes in Iran by U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reapers by General Atomics has far outstripped that by any other aircraft, U.S. Air Force Chief […]

U.S. Special Operations Command Budget For OA-1K Drops From 62 To 53 Planes

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 20 May 2026 17:00:32 +0000

U.S. Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) fiscal 2027 future years defense plan (FYDP) said that the budget for the OA-1K Skyraider II Armed Overwatch aircraft has fallen from 62 to 53 […]

Northrop Grumman’s Mission Robotic Vehicle May Launch This Summer

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:26:34 +0000

DULLES-Va.—Northrop Grumman‘s [NOC] Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) is to launch this summer on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as the U.S. Space Force looks to refueling, maneuver, and repair and […]

Space Force Awards Northrop Grumman $398 Million For Enhanced PTS-P

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:18:31 +0000

The Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) has awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $398 million firm-fixed price contract to develop and build an Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype (PTS-P) for […]

Space Force Soliciting Industry Prototypes For $783 Million Program To Upgrade Ground-Based Radars

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 14 May 2026 21:36:49 +0000

The Space Force’s fiscal 2027 future years defense plan includes $783 million to upgrade eight ground-based radars in collaboration with the Missile Defense Agency, including nearly $129 million in fiscal […]

Less Than $400 Million Needed to Modify VC-25B Bridge Aircraft, USAF Estimates

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 13 May 2026 21:50:05 +0000

The nearly decade-long program to develop and field two VC-25B Air Force One planes by Boeing [BA] has a price tag thus far of more than $4.2 billion, but the […]

Addition Of Production Lines For F-15EX Eyed By USAF, MQ-9 Follow-On In Works

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 13 May 2026 17:55:05 +0000

The U.S. Air Force is negotiating with Boeing [BA] a multi-year procurement buy for the company’s F-15EX Eagle II and the possible opening of a second and third production line […]

SPACECOM Chief: Maneuver Needed For High Value Satellites

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 12 May 2026 21:05:12 +0000

While safety in numbers is a defining trait of low Earth orbit satellites, including those in the Space Development Agency’s future Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, key geosynchronous orbit satellites, such […]

NGAP Contenders Complete Assembly Readiness Reviews For Prototype Engines

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 11 May 2026 20:46:59 +0000

RTX‘s [RTX] Pratt & Whitney and GE Aerospace [GE] said that they have completed assembly readiness reviews for their XA103 and XA102 engines, respectively, for the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion […]

USAF To Meet With Companies On Support Equipment For B-52 CERP

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 11 May 2026 20:01:55 +0000

As the U.S. Air Force prepares to modify two B-52H bombers later this year for the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP), the bomber directorate’s contracting office at Tinker AFB, Okla., […]

Space Control Budget More Than Doubles To About 30 Percent Of Space Force Request

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 08 May 2026 19:43:27 +0000

Space Control is about 30 percent of the Space Force’s fiscal 2027 budget request of $71 billion, which is to include $12 billion in a future reconciliation bill, according to […]

With $1.5 Trillion Request, Army, Air Force, Navy’s Unfunded Lists Focus Solely On MILCON Projects

Matthew Beinart — Thu, 07 May 2026 21:40:01 +0000

With the Trump administration’s push to massively increase defense spending to $1.5 trillion in fiscal year 2027, the Army, Air Force and Navy have eschewed submitting large unfunded priorities lists […]

Air Force Examining Government-Owned Technical Data Library For B-2

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 07 May 2026 17:57:33 +0000

Under an Air Force Supply Chain Velocity initiative for the service’s B-2 Spirit stealth bomber by Northrop Grumman [NOC], the service would create a government-owned technical data library through reverse […]

Air Force Plans $1.7 Billion Retrofit Of APG-85 Radar On 181 F-35As In Lot 17 And Prior

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 06 May 2026 21:30:57 +0000

The Air Force’s fiscal 2027 future years defense plan (FYDP) contains more than $1.7 billion to retrofit 181 Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35As in Lot 17 and prior with the future […]

Skunk Works Head Named President of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:49:54 +0000

Orlando “OJ” Sanchez, Jr., the vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, is to become president of Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] Aeronautics business on June 1, the company […]

MGUE Program To Move From Space Force To Air Force

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 05 May 2026 22:37:37 +0000

In fiscal 2027, the Air Force is to assume management of the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) program from the Space Force. On April 9 last year, a Department of […]

T-7A Red Hawk Okayed For Production, Each Of Three LRIP Lots Must Get Clearance, USAF Says

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 05 May 2026 17:31:45 +0000

The U.S. Air Force cleared Boeing‘s [BA] T-7A Red Hawk trainer for production on April 23 to replace the service’s 1960s-era T-38 Talon by Northrop Grumman [NOC], the service said […]

USAF To Modify Two B-52s To Carry F130 Engines This Year

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 04 May 2026 20:49:46 +0000

The U.S. Air Force Commercial Engine Replacement Program for the Boeing [BA] B-52J recently passed a Critical Design Review (CDR), according to the service. The passage of CDR allows Boeing’s […]

2028 Pegged As Delivery Date for VC-25B; USAF Says Former Qatari “Bridge” Aircraft Will Roll Out This Summer

Frank Wolfe — Sat, 02 May 2026 01:01:44 +0000

The U.S. Air Force is pegging delivery of the first Boeing [BA] VC-25B presidential aircraft in 2028, and a heavily modified 747-8i that formerly carried the emir of Qatar will […]

Orbital Warfare Systems Top Priority for Space Chief Nominee

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 01 May 2026 17:12:34 +0000

Fielding more systems for orbital warfare has been the top priority of the White House’s nominee to succeed Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman. The Trump administration on […]

Air Force To Retire BACN In 2028, Use Hybrid SATCOM Terminal As Bridge

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:57:55 +0000

As part of a “generational shift away from legacy systems and towards next-generation” ones in air and space, the Air Force plans to divest its fleet of eight E-11A Battlefield […]

Five E-7 Wedgetails Under Contract In EMD Phase

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:19:16 +0000

In addition to the two Boeing [BA] E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft that the Air Force is buying for rapid prototyping, the service has another five planned in the […]

APG-85 Fielding May Come 9 Months Early, Estimated Unit Cost Of $8.8 Million

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:47:28 +0000

The Air Force now expects to receive the first Northrop Grumman [NOC] APG-85 radar for the F-35A fighter by Lockheed Martin [LMT] in April 2028–nine months earlier than previously scheduled, […]

Munitions Fired Represent Most of $25 Billion Spent By Pentagon on Iran War So Far

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:36:50 +0000

Munitions fired in the two-month old “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran represent most of the $25 billion cost the Pentagon has incurred thus far in the conflict, the acting Defense […]

CoAspire Unveils Extended Range Affordable Cruise Missile

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:31:47 +0000

Building on a cruise missile it developed and is already in production for a U.S. government customer, CoAspire last week introduced an extended-range version of the missile that is in […]

USAF Awards Contracts For Rapid Fielding Of Counter-Drone Systems For AFCENT

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 21:28:38 +0000

The Air Force has begun awarding sole source contracts to field counter-drone systems within 15 days for use by Air Forces Central (AFCENT) in Operation Epic Fury, which began on […]

USAF Issues Correction on 319 Procurement Number for KC-46s, Says Number Is 263

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 20:55:27 +0000

While procurement figures in the Air Force’s fiscal 2027 budget document gave a goal of 319 Boeing [BA] KC-46A Pegasus tankers–an increase of nearly 60 from the 263 planned in […]

Budd And Shaheen Bill Would Authorize 329 F-15EX Fighters

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:32:09 +0000

Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), have introduced the Airpower Acceleration Act, which would authorize multi-year procurements of […]

USAF Budgets $55 Million for Extended Range FAMM in Fiscal 2027, Another $300 Million for FAMM To Be In Future Reconciliation Bill

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:45:45 +0000

The U.S. Air Force’s fiscal 2027 discretionary budget procurement request includes $55 million for a more than 1,000 nautical mile range Extended Range variant of the Family of Affordable Mass […]

USAF Examining Software, Construction Competition For Sentinel Program

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 21:42:51 +0000

The Pentagon is looking at competition in the software and support construction realms for the Northrop Grumman [NOC] future LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM, a top official said on Wednesday. The Air […]

INDOPACOM Commander Praises LUCAS And MEROPS Drones

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:53:26 +0000

Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), used the phrase “unmanned hellscape” in June 2024, to describe what China would face in the Taiwan Strait if […]

Space Force Budget Includes $1.8 Billion To Modernize Launch at Vandenberg And Cape Canaveral

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:00:19 +0000

Part of the Department of the Air Force’s $13.6 billion operations and maintenance (O&M) budget in fiscal 2027 for facility improvements–a $7.2 billion increase from last year’s appropriation–is to bolster […]

Nearly All of USAF’s $1.5 Billion FY 2027 Request For Airbase Air Defense Is to Counter Missiles

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:32:05 +0000

The Air Force’s fiscal 2027 budget includes $1.5 billion for airbase air defense against missiles and drones–a $1.3 billion increase from last year’s appropriated amount, according to the service. Yet, […]

Northrop Grumman Sells USAF One B-21 Test Aircraft As Part of Production Acceleration

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 20:03:15 +0000

Northrop Grumman [NOC] sold the U.S. Air Force one of the company’s test B-21 Raiders as part of an effort to accelerate production of the 6th generation stealth bomber. “To […]

Pentagon To Move Forward On AEP Upgrades For GPS, As DoD Cancels GPS OCX

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:38:50 +0000

The Pentagon has decided to end the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) by RTX [RTX] and instead move forward on upgrades to the existing ground system for GPS, […]

USAF Surveying Industry On Cheaper, Long-Range Ground Attack Missiles On Cargo Planes And Fighters

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:07:41 +0000

The office of Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Lyons, the service’s portfolio acquisition executive for weapons and the head of Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s armament directorate at Eglin […]

Final GPS III Satellite To Launch On Monday With Optical Cross Link Demonstration Payload

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:42:18 +0000

On Monday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 is to carry the last GPS III satellite by Lockheed Martin [LMT] into orbit with an optical cross link payload designed to increase the […]

Space Force Awarded AMTI Contracts To Nine Vendors To Get Initial Space-Based Capability

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:40:07 +0000

The Space Force last Friday said it awarded small contracts to nine vendors that will lead to an initial operating capability for detecting and tracking moving aerial targets from space. […]

Air Combat Command’s EOU Tests Anduril’s YFQ-44A

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:23:00 +0000

Last week, the Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) at Nellis AFB, Nev., tested an Anduril Industries YFQ-44A Fury prototype Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which flew from a company site […]

Air Force Let Development Contract For Space-Based AMTI; Meink Says Risk Low

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:10:21 +0000

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Department of the Air Force has awarded a contract for space-based air moving target indication (AMTI) to multiple vendors to begin development activities, Air Force Secretary Troy […]

Pentagon Fiscal 2027 Budget To Address Cannibalization Of Parts For F-35, Legislator Says

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:56:23 +0000

The Pentagon’s upcoming fiscal 2027 budget request will help reduce the cannibalization of parts for the F-35 fighter by Lockheed Martin [LMT], the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s […]

Space Force Picks Blue Origin As Lessee For Heavy Pad Development At Vandenberg

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:49:53 +0000

Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is the Space Force’s choice as a lessee to develop heavy and super heavy launch pads for Space Launch Complex-14 (SLC-14) at Vandenberg Space Force […]

Space Force Examining “Many Possible Swap Opportunities To Get Capability On Orbit”

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:41:39 +0000

As U.S. Space Force continues to examine the root cause of a booster anomaly during the Feb. 26 launch of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur and possible remedies, […]

Interoperability Of Space Systems Not A “10,” But Not A “1,” Space Force Official Says

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 20:11:44 +0000

While not charged with managing the building of satellites, ground stations, or software, U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Integration Office (SSIO) may have one of the most difficult acquisition jobs […]

Solid Rocket Motors For First Five Sentinel Flight Tests In Construction

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:46:17 +0000

Solid rocket motors for the first five Air Force flight tests of the Northrop Grumman [NOC] LGM-35A Sentinel future ICBM are in construction, the company said on Monday. “Every propulsive […]