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Air Force

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds, U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa commander presides over a Silver Star ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, March 3, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexandra M. Longfellow)

USAFE boss shares ‘vignettes’ for CCA drone employment in Europe

“I'm excited about what CCAs have in store for the Air Force,” Lt. Gen. Jason Hinds told reporters.
A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress aircraft assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing departs from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, June 25, 2026. Members assigned to both the 20th and 96th Bomb Squadrons performed a flyover in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Preston Crawford)

Air Force moves key B-52 engine and radar upgrades forward

The Commercial Engine Replacement Program has officially moved into engineering and manufacturing development, and the Radar Modernization Program has been approved for low-rate initial production.
YFQ-42 aircraft sit on the flightline at a California test location as part of the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft flight test campaign. (Courtesy Air Force photo)

Air Force plans to field 500 CCA drones by 2032

General Atomics’ platform is now known as the FQ-42A Vengeance, while Anduril’s has been officially designated the FQ-44A Fury, SECAF Troy Meink said Monday.
U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 147th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron perform postflight checks on an MQ-9 Reaper drone assigned to the 147th Attack Wing, Texas Air National Guard, at Keflavík Air Base, Iceland, during exercise Northern Viking 26, Aug. 21, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Edgar Grimaldo)

Air Force moves to accelerate effort to replace MQ-9 Reaper after combat losses in Iran war

“We want to bring this thing forward because of the fact that, although we have plenty of MQ-9As today, we are going through them at a rate…
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U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing perform a flyover above Aviano Air Base, Italy, June 1, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kelsey Tucker)

Air Force awards $100M production deal for AI-enabled readiness platform

The Air Force is moving its fragmented scheduling, training and readiness systems into a single enterprise platform known as the Aerospace Readiness Enterprise System.
Members of the Air Force and Ohio Air National Guard look at laptops during field prototype testing evaluation for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Portable Command and Control Enclave (C2E). (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Shane Hughes).

Air Force conducts tests of CCA ground control system prototypes

The Command and Control Enclave (C2E) program is another new effort under development for the Air Force's robotic wingman platforms.
U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft tail 0194, assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing, sits on the flightline prior to taking off at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, July 30, 2026. Tail 0194 sustained extensive damage last year but was repaired by the 445th Maintenance Group in collaboration with the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office and University of Dayton Research Institute to fabricate a nose panel using robotics technology to form sheet metal into a functional replacement part, the first of its kind produced, tested, and flown on an Air Force airframe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Daniel Peterson)

Air Force explores AI tools to predict aircraft failures, strengthen sustainment

“I would say we definitely have our foot in the pool, but we need to jump in a little deeper,” Brig. Gen. William Ottati said.
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