Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, the Air Force’s two top leaders offered this sobering information: Threats from advanced fighter aircraft continue to grow. They noted that “increased use of state-of-the-art radar jammers, avionics, weapons and reduced signature airframes/engines are becoming the norm in fighter design.” And, they said, the ability of countries like China and India to “produce their own advanced fighter” increases not only the quantity but also the quality of potential adversary aircraft USAF might face in the future. (Remember the Indian Air Force fighters that bested USAF?) They noted, too, that China is on a path to “more than double its advanced fighter inventory to over 500 airframes” by 2012. (Read joint statement here.)
B-21 Raider First Flight Now Postponed to 2023
May 20, 2022
The Air Force says the B-21 Raider won't make its first flight until 2023; about a six-month delay from the last official estimates. No reason was given for the delay. While other programs have recently chalked up schedule slips to supply chain and labor shortages, the Air Force has said…