B-2 Spirit bombers played a rare, integrated combat role alongside Air Force, allied, and joint service aircraft during Red Flag 15-1 at Nellis AFB, Nev., earlier this month. “Many people don’t know and understand what our capabilities are or what we can do for a combatant commander,” said Lt. Col. Bradley Cochran, commander of the 393rd Bomb Squadron from Whiteman AFB, Mo. At Red Flag, “we are able to work with other aircraft and our coalition partners in order to teach them what the B-2 can do, which helps us integrate more effectively into any future combat operation,” he added in a release. Whiteman’s B-2s participated in large-force employment exercises with US F-22s, F-16s, F-15Es, and a variety of command and control and electronic warfare aircraft, in addition to British Typhoon fighters, AWACs, and Sentinel ISR platforms, according to a Nellis release. Red Flag 15-1 ran Jan. 26 to Feb. 13.
USAF to Cut F-35 Buy in Future Years Defense Plan
May 14, 2021
The Air Force wants to scale back buys of the F-35 over the next five years, hoping to get sustainment costs down and to wait for the more capable Block 4 version, according to talking points prepared for Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. The reduced buy will…