Almanac: Equipment

Total aircraft inventory; aircraft inventory trends; ICBM and satellite inventory; aircraft age; tail codes.

Dec. 2, 2020

Aerospace experts offered a peek into how joint all-domain command and control might begin changing the Air Force over the next few years as part of RAND Corp.’s West Coast Aerospace Forum Dec. 2. Expect the upcoming fiscal 2022 and 2023 budgets to majorly accelerate combat networking demonstrations and related…

Early COVID-19 Response ‘Defining Moment’ of International C-17 Wing

Dec. 2, 2020

The Strategic Airlift Capability’s Heavy Airlift Wing sprung into action early in the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver desperately needed protective equipment within weeks in what became a “defining moment” for the program, the HAW’s commander said. The 12-year-old SAC, which includes three Globemaster IIIs jointly purchased and flown by the…

Raymond: Air Support Coming to US Space Command

Dec. 2, 2020

The Space Force’s top general this week indicated the Air Force will create an organization to offer aircraft and other resources in support of U.S. Space Command. “All the services will have a service component, because this isn't space for space's sake,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay”…

5th AF Boss on Maintaining Readiness in Japan During the Pandemic

Dec. 1, 2020

The lack of training ranges and airspace in Japan are making it difficult for U.S. aircrews to maintain readiness during the pandemic, the head of U.S. forces in Japan said. U.S. and Japanese aircraft and personnel need to leave the country for high-end training, often traveling to major exercise such…

Production of First T-7A Sims Begins at St. Louis

Dec. 1, 2020

The first simulators for the T-7A advanced jet trainer are taking shape at Boeing's St. Louis, Mo., facilities, the company announced Dec. 1. The devices will match the environment, as well as visual and physical cues of the actual aircraft, in almost every way, the company said. The sims will…

Air Force Retention Soars Amid COVID-19 Uncertainty

Dec. 1, 2020

More people are opting to stay in the Air Force than at nearly any other time in the past 20 years, choosing to stay put amid pandemic-era economic uncertainty. In the past two decades, the only time retention outpaced the current rate was after the 9/11 terror attacks, according to…

Air Force to Lead US, Australia Push for Hypersonic Technology

Nov. 30, 2020

Australia’s military will help the Pentagon pursue so-called “air-breathing” hypersonic weapons and more under the U.S.-run Allied Prototyping Initiative, the U.S. Defense Department said Nov. 30. The Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) initiative “will be essential to the future of hypersonic research and development, ensuring the U.S. and…

Air Force Scientific Advisory Board to Wrap Up 2020 Studies

Nov. 30, 2020

Air Force science advisers will meet Dec. 17 to discuss the findings of their recent space research as they close out this year’s deep-dive studies. In 2020, the board considered emerging space technologies, military communications, and autonomous systems behavior. As the year comes to a close, advisers will hear the…

USAF, Boeing Finalizing Overhaul Design of Troubled RVS System

Nov. 25, 2020

The Air Force is finished evaluating the proposed “interim” fix for the KC-46’s troubled remote vision system, and is moving toward finalizing the design of the “2.0” overhaul of the system. The Air Force is more focused on the 2.0 overhaul, and “we’ve completed nearly every aspect of the design”…

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