Air Force

The Air Force Research Laboratory is working to use Link 16 to connect satellites with ground-based radios and aims to demonstrate the capability next March.

The Defense Department's cost analysis and estimation work has barely been slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the cost assessment and program evaluation office.

The Air Force will delay the completion of operational testing for the KC-46 airborne refueling tanker until after Boeing upgrades the aircraft's Remote Vision System -- a slowdown that will push a full-rate production decision from this September to late fiscal year 2024.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office highlights risk in the Air Force's plan to launch the first geosynchronous satellite in the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared System constellation by late 2025, calling the plan "highly aggressive and high risk."

The Pentagon will accelerate plans for a new space-based missile defense architecture if Congress increases funding in fiscal year 2021 for the Hypersonic Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor program, which could allow the U.S. military to put the "kernel" of a totally new network on orbit by FY-22, according to a senior Defense Department official.

The Air Force is looking for a new medium-altitude, unmanned aerial system to support intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions that can reach initial operational capability in spring 2031.

As the T-7A Advanced Pilot Training program moves from design into the build phase, after passing air vehicle and ground-based training system critical design reviews in March, prime contractor Boeing says the program's use of digital engineering tools is reducing the time it takes to integrate hardware and software, increasing quality and providing key analytics as the program crafts future test plans.

The Pentagon today announced plans to install fifth-generation wireless testbeds at seven new bases across the United States, bringing the total number to 12, as the military explores an expanding range of use cases for 5G technologies.

The F-35 joint program office says despite a minor delay in the program's operational test schedule related to the COVID-19 pandemic, program-required test activities are slated to wrap up in the fall. These will be followed by a slate of "runs for score" meant to test the Joint Simulation Environment's integration with the aircraft and its subsystems.