All articles tagged with #us air force
Anduril Industries has rolled out its Fury semi-autonomous fighter—the FQ-44—from Arsenal-1 in Pickaway County, Ohio, marking the first Ohio-built unit 557 days after the factory's reveal and three months ahead of schedule. The production line can reach about 150 Fury aircraft per year, as Ohio positions Arsenal-1 to grow its defense-manufacturing footprint and create thousands of jobs by 2035.
Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach outlines a shift toward hardening airfield defense with a new point-defense career field against missiles, drones, and one‑way attack threats, argues for low-cost protective measures over heavily hardened shelters, and mentions directed-energy and other non-kinetic options. He also expresses confidence in the T-7 Red Hawk as a potential single trainer to streamline training and costs, while urging faster delivery and fixes for the F-35 Block 4/TR-3 upgrades amid ongoing capability gaps. He notes flexible deployment to mitigate current delays and emphasizes output from the program despite the challenges.
About 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas have contracted influenza over roughly three weeks, a major outbreak that follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s rollback of the yearly flu-shot requirement for service members.
A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California; emergency crews responded and there is no immediate information on casualties or the cause; the B-52 is a long-range bomber capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds, and Edwards AFB is a major desert base north of Los Angeles where the incident occurred.
The 2026 Royal International Air Tattoo has been canceled after discussions with the RAF and USAF over access to RAF Fairford amid the Middle East conflict and Operation Epic Fury. A relocation for 2026 was not feasible, but RIAT27 is planned to return to RAF Fairford with fallback premises if the war continues. The event, which typically draws tens of thousands of visitors and features major fighter aircraft, has a history of cancellations in 2008, 2020, and 2021 (the 2021 edition went virtual).
Hundreds gathered near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to protest US bomber flights linked to operations against Iran. The demonstration, organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, urged an end to the Iran conflict and for the UK to stop hosting US bases, while roads near the base were closed and residents reported loud, disruptive aircraft noise.
A man in his 40s was arrested after entering an unauthorized area of Shannon Airport and allegedly damaged a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules; airport operations were briefly suspended and flights delayed as Gardaí investigate.
A man in his 40s entered Shannon Airport’s restricted airside area, climbed onto a US Air Force C-130 Hercules on a remote taxiway, and damaged the fuselage with an implement (possibly an axe). Airport operations were briefly halted with two departures delayed and an arriving Lourdes flight held; he was detained by Gardaí and investigations are ongoing.
An opinion piece argues the U.S. ABM fleet (E-2/E-3/E-7) is stretched thin by aging airframes, maintenance strain, and heavy demand from operations like Epic Fury. It criticizes budget moves to cancel ABM programs in favor of unproven options and urges funding for new ABM aircraft and updated radars, plus maintenance of pilot/crewmember pipelines, to preserve reliable early warning and battle management for high-threat theaters.
An Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia wounded at least 10 U.S. troops (two seriously) and damaged at least two U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft, underscoring Iran’s ongoing threat despite weeks of military activity in the region.
The Pentagon identified six U.S. service members—ages 28 to 38—from two air refueling wings who were killed when a KC-135 tanker crashed in western Iraq while supporting operations related to Iran; the crash is described as an apparent midair collision with another KC-135.
All six crew members aboard a KC-135 aerial refueling tanker were killed when it crashed in western Iraq during operations against Iran; officials say the incident was not caused by hostile or friendly fire, and the other KC-135 involved landed safely. The death toll in Operation Epic Fury rises to at least 13 US service members, with about 140 wounded. The KC-135 is a long-serving refueling aircraft, and the crash prompts ongoing investigation into its cause and safety practices.
U.S. officials say Kuwaiti air defenses accidentally shot down three American F-15E jets amid a broader Iranian assault; all six crew members ejected safely and are in stable condition as the incident is investigated.
Amid tensions with Iran, the U.S. Air Force has deployed six of 16 E-3 Sentry AWACS to Europe and likely the Middle East, signaling heavy reliance on an aging, limited fleet and ongoing readiness gaps. The move comes as lawmakers debated replacing the E-3s with E-7 Wedgetails, a program stalled for years, raising concerns about coverage—especially in the Indo-Pacific—and prompting consideration of space-based sensing as a long-term substitute.
One of the USAF's C-32A VIP jets (serial 99-0003) was spotted at Majors Airport in Greenville, TX wearing a red, white and blue paint scheme echoing Trump’s proposed VC-25B Air Force One livery, part of a broader move to standardize executive-airlift livery across U.S. government jets, including DHS/Gulfstream G700 LRCCA aircraft. The Air Force continues upgrading the C-32 fleet and has discussed replacing them with a common platform, while the VC-25 program evolves toward future variants; it remains to be seen how widely the scheme will be adopted across the fleet.