Aircraft

The Air Force awarded a Boeing-Saab team a $9.2 billion contract today to build the next-generation T-X training jet -- the company's third major defense contract in the last two months.

After several years of working with engine-makers to test and prototype adaptive engine technologies, the Air Force is starting to take steps to field some of those capabilities -- building a roadmap for legacy system upgrades and awarding two major contracts to begin risk-reduction for a next-generation adaptive engine.

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Air Force has extended its analysis of alternatives exploring next-generation air dominance capabilities, which was supposed to be completed this summer, and top acquisition officials told reporters this week the service is moving away from "a single addition" and more toward a portfolio of capabilities.

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- A U.S. Transportation Command-led mobility and capability requirements study has been delayed until later this year as the Pentagon works to incorporate additional threat-based planning data into the scope of the review.

Congressional appropriators this week agreed to put $100 million toward the early stages of the Air Force’s O/A-X light-attack aircraft procurement program, after the Senate proposed three times as much money but the House offered none.

The F-35 joint program office expects to start its first formal operational testing events in November, after Director of Operational Test & Evaluation Robert Behler directed the program to hold off on starting the tests until the newest version of software is available to the test aircraft fleet.

DAYTON, OH -- The program executive officer in charge of the Air Force's fighter and bomber fleets said this week his directorate is facing a significant modernization bow wave that is making it difficult to balance aircraft availability with the need for improved capability for an aging workhorse fleet.

A government watchdog has found the operating costs of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, EA-18G Growler and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet programs increased from fiscal year 2011 to FY-16, according to a new report.

The Air Force later this month will roll out its vision for a right-sized service that can meet the demands of the National Defense Strategy, focusing on the importance of the service's squadrons rather than the size of its aircraft fleet.