A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon takes off from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The F-16 is carrying a Family of Affordable Mass Munition – Lugged weapon as part of a rapid test series performed by the 96th Test Wing and 53rd Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas M. Barley)
A YFQ-44A, part of the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, undergoes an undated captive carry test at a California test location. This test phase uses inert munitions to methodically validate weapons integration, structural performance and safety, ensuring the platform can safely carry external stores. (Courtesy Air Force photo)
U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Raun Howell, 6th ARW command chief, second from left, shakes hands with Gen. Johnny Lamontagne, Air Mobility Command commander, at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, June 9, 2025. Lamontagne arrived to attend CORONA South 2025, a conference held bi-annually that allows Air Force leaders to discuss strategy and policy. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Derrick Bole)
The Air Force has been without a Senate-confirmed vice chief since February, when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired Gen. James Slife from the position.
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, left, swears in Gen. Ken Wilsbach as the new Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, Nov. 3, 2025. Mrs. Cindy Wilsbach joined her husband during the ceremony. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stuart Bright)
“We must guarantee that tomorrow's Airmen inherit an Air Force that can win,” Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach wrote in his first letter to the force.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Ken Wilsbach, commander of Air Combat Command, speaks to Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team commander and pilot, following the team’s certification flight at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Jan. 24, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)
The biggest challenge to Air Force readiness is the tension between sustaining legacy systems and investing in future capabilities under constrained budgets, Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach told lawmakers.
“We’re thinking that they’re not going to be embedded in current fighter squadrons, but rather they’re going to be their own squadrons,” Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said.
Airmen from the 67th Cyberspace Wing review daily tasks at Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland’s Medina annex, Sept. 5, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Jason W. Edwards)
Wilsbach — who recently served as commander of Air Combat Command, which oversees 16th Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) — noted the challenges in his response to…
U.S. Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of Air Combat Command, speaks after being presented the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by Japanese Ambassador to the United States Shigeo Yamada, during a ceremony at Yamada’s residence in Washington, D.C., Oct. 21, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich)