DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ US Air Force special ops forces are turning big cargo planes into bombers with a new weapon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Lauren Frias | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Workhorse transport planes fighting as bombersThe rehearsals allow the airmen to rapidly employ a litany of effects via airdrop from airlift platforms, such as the MC-130J Commando II. US Army PhotoTraditionally, the Air Force's workhorse transport planes, like the C-17 Globemaster III and MC-130J Commando II, have aided in the strategic and rapid delivery of fuel and supplies via airdrop. These two types of planes were selected for the initiative because turning them into bombers required fewer modifications and training. Slife said the cargo plane can carry as many long-range weapons as a B-52. This plane, given its size, can carry three times as many long-range precision munitions as a B-52 bomber, according to Slife.

Persons: Jim Slife, Slife, Valerie Knight Organizations: US Army, Air, US Air Force Special Operations Command, Air and Space Forces Association, Business, 352nd Wing

☆ Satellite photos show how the US Air Force is reclaiming a WWII-era airfield from the jungle to prepare to dodge Chinese missiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The US Air Force is developing more dispersed bases to counter the threat posed by China's missiles. US engineers quickly began building what became the biggest and busiest air base of the war. "Air Force engineers are scheduled to remove the vegetation that have penetrated through the cracks and joints of the old pavement surfaces," Peden added. Money is allotted for work at Tindal air base — including $93 million to build a parking apron for six B-52 bombers — and Darwin air base, both of which are in Australia's Northern Territory. The Air Force is working with the rest of the military to address those challenges, Thomas Lawhead, acting deputy chief of staff for Air Force Futures, said at an event this month.

Persons: —, Gen, Kenneth Wilsbach, Wilsbach, Lance Cpl, J, Gage, Capt, Gerald Peden, Peden, Jason Robertson, Cesar Basa, Michael S, Murphy, Frank Kendall, Kendall, Sgt, JT May III, Thomas Lawhead, Joseph P, Lawhead Organizations: US Air Force, China's, Service, Airport, US Pacific Air Forces, an Air and Space Forces Association, Field, International Airport, Commonwealth of, Marines, Air Force, Google, Air, Tinian's, US Marine Corps, KC, Pacific Air Forces, Tech, Northwest Field, Tindal, Pentagon, Air Force Futures, Army Locations: Tinian, SkyFi, Japan, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, West, Commonwealth, Northern Mariana Islands, Pacific, —, Guam, Northern Territory, Philippines, Manila, Philippine, China, North Korea, Northern Mariana

☆ The US Air Force is training to take down Chinese warships, but China's military has built a 'wicked' problem for it to overcome
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

That's not a new task for the US Air Force, but it faces a 'wicked' threat from China's air defenses. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe US Air Force is working on improving its ability to sink well-defended warships, a reflection of the US military's concern about the growing size and increasing capability of China's navy. US Naval History and Heritage CommandUS pilots have trained to sink warships since the early 1920s, well before the Air Force's founding in 1947. US Air Force A-10s at Naval Air Station North Island in California for Green Flag-West in November 2022. Wilsbach said in September that training by Pacific Air Forces has emphasized "stacking effects" to bring more weapons to bear.

Persons: That's, —, Nancy Pelosi's, Pelosi, Gen, Kenneth Wilsbach, we've, Wilsbach, Sun, Brendan Mulvaney, Mulvaney, eng.chinamil.com.cn, Yang Yunxiang, that's, Mark Kelly, Kelly, hasn't, Lyle Goldstein, TENGKU BAHAR, Goldstein, they've, John Baum, Baum, Zachary Rufus, Col, Daniel Lehoski, William R, Lewis, Lockheed Martin, Lindsey Heflin Organizations: US Air Force, Service, US Pacific Air Forces, an Air and Space Forces Association, China News Service, Getty, China Aerospace Studies Institute, Department of, Air Force, United, and Space Forces Conference, Air Combat Command, Defense, Heritage Command US, Air, Navy, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, Naval Air Station, Green Flag, West, US Army, Air Force Weapons, Weapons, Flag, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada ., Pacific, US Navy, Squadron, Force, Missiles, Ship, Lockheed, Command, Lindsey Heflin Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Army Locations: China, Taiwan, Pacific, United States, Ukraine, Asia, Hong Kong, Liaoning, Shandong, Fujian, Iraq, Afghanistan, California, Nevada

☆ Close calls around the world show that Russian and Chinese pilots want 'batting practice' against the US, top commanders say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US military is reporting frequent unsafe intercepts of its planes by Russian and Chinese jets. They come as the jets and weapons the US Air Force relies on for air superiority continue to age. One is that they want batting practice against the best in the world, and that's available for them," Kelly added. Screengrab/US Air Force videoRussia and China have invested heavily in their own air forces in recent decades. China's air force and navy now field the world's third-largest aviation fleet, including 1,900 fighter jets.

Persons: —, Mark Kelly, Kelly, you've, Alexus Grynkewich, Grynkewich, PO1 Alexander Kubitza Little, Nancy Pelosi's, Joe Biden, Xi, Adm, John Aquilino Organizations: US Air Force, Service, Command, US Central Command, Pentagon, Air Combat Command, US Defense Department, Russian, Air and Space Forces Association, Air Force, AIM, US Air Forces, Defense Writers, Pacific Command, South China Locations: Russian, Syria, South, Ukraine, China, Pacific, Russia, Screengrab, East, US, Chinese, Taiwan, Beijing, People's Republic of China

☆ After watching Russia's and Ukraine's electronic warriors battle it out, the US military wants to 'dial up' up its own 'jamming power'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That's why the US Air Force is eager to deploy a new generation of electronic-warfare aircraft and drones. In September, the Air Force received its first test EC-37B Compass Call. AdvertisementAdvertisementMilitaries have been investing in the secretive world of electronic warfare since World War II. Naturally, the Air Force wants to extensively test the E-37B before deploying it. A US Air Force EC-130H at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in August 2021.

Persons: —, Mark Kelly, Denis Abramov, James Rainey, Doug Bush, Bush, Felicia Jagdatt, Kelly, Alex Miller, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, US Air Force, Air Force, Gulfstream G550, Air Combat Command, Air and Space Forces Association, Russian Defense Ministry, Mil.ru, US Army Futures Command, Association of, United, Army, US Army, Air and Space Forces, US Air Force EC, Davis, Monthan Air Force Base, Air, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Vietnam, Russian, Mil.ru Ukraine, Russia, United States, Bliss, Texas, Forbes

☆ China's J-20 stealth jet isn't 'a dominating aircraft,' but it doesn't need to be for what China's military has planned
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

China's air force continues to improve and expand its fleet of J-20 stealth fighter jets. The J-20 is China's first stealth jet and a growing part of an already sizable aviation force. China's air force and navy now make up the largest aviation force in the region and the third largest in the world. They have a total of 1,900 fighter jets, including J-20s that have been "operationally fielded" by China's air force, according to the US Defense Department. AdvertisementAdvertisementA Chinese jet, believed to be a J-20 prototype, in Chengdu in January 2011.

Persons: —, Wang Jingtian, We've, Brendan Mulvaney, Mulvaney, they've, Rick Joe, Zhang Hui, Kenneth Wilsbach, Wilsbach, Jia Tianyong, Rong Xu Organizations: Service, US Defense Department, US Air Force, Beijing, Getty, WS, Reuters, China Aerospace Studies Institute, Department of, US Pacific Air Forces, Air and Space Forces Association, Air Show, China News Service, Getty Images China, People's Liberation Army, PLA, People's Republic of China, US Air, Pentagon Locations: China, East China, Pacific, Taiwan, Changchun, Chengdu, People's Republic of, China's, Xiamen, Zhuhai, American

☆ An embarrassing Russian defeat a century ago is a warning about the risks of losing a war to China now, top US Air Force official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In May 1905, Russia's navy suffered a resounding defeat by the Japanese at the Battle of Tsushima. The battle is a lesson about complacency in the face of new threats, a top US Air Force official says. AdvertisementAdvertisementGreat-power competitionJapanese soldiers relieve Russian troops in an outer fort at Port Arthur after the Russian surrender in 1905. Proctor via Wikimedia Commons"The Battle of Tsushima Straits did not go well for Russia," Kendall, a self-proclaimed history buff, said at the conference. If our power-projection capability and capacity are not adequate to deter Chinese aggression against Taiwan or elsewhere, war could occur," Kendall said.

Persons: —, Frank Kendall, Kendall, aren't, George Rinhart, Port Arthur —, Korea's, Shigetada Seki, Port Arthur, Oriol, Tsushima, Oleg, Proctor, Theodore Roosevelt Organizations: Russia's, Russo, US Air Force, Service, Air Force, Air and Space Forces Association, Getty, Imperial, Siberian Railway, Asahi, Wikimedia, Imperial Japanese Navy, Russian, Baltic Fleet, 2nd Pacific Squadron, Wikimedia Commons, Mukden, Japanese Defense Ministry, US Defense Department Russia's Locations: Tsushima, Japanese, Asia, European, Imperial Japan, Imperial Russia, Pacific, Japan, Russia, China, Port, Europe, Korea, Dalian, Liaodong, Port Arthur, Tokyo, Russian Pacific, Chemulpo, Ulsan, Baltic, Russian, Vladivostok, Philippines, Madagascar, Manila Bay, Shandong, Okinawa, US, Britain, Germany, Imperial Germany, South, Soviet Union, Manchuria, Taiwan

☆ The US Air Force is buying a new missile as it makes plans to blast through enemy air defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia and Ukraine are using their air defenses to deny each other control of the air. The US wants to avoid that, and it's working on a new missile to take down enemy air defenses. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Russian and Ukrainian air forces have played a relatively minor role in the war in Ukraine. Both sides have tended to keep their aircraft over friendly territory rather than risk tangling with sophisticated enemy air defenses, such as Ukraine's US-made Patriot and Russia's S-400. Ukrainian air forceThe US military currently uses the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-radiation Guided Missile, or AARGM, which is an upgraded HARM.

Persons: —, it's, James Hecker, Hecker, Northrop Grumman, Northrop, Northrop Grumman What's, they've, " Hecker, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, US Air Forces, Air and Space Forces Association, Ukrainian, Press, Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff, Handout, REUTERS, US Air Force, Radiation, Storm, US, Air and Space Forces Magazine, Joint, Air Force, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Europe, Kharkiv, Vietnam, Iran, North Korea, Forbes

☆ The US Air Force's plan to give its biggest planes new missions has gotten China's attention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

US Air Force officials say they're pursuing a plan to drop "palletized effects" from cargo planes. Minihan said "palletized effects" could include much more than just "kinetic effects" like missiles. There's other kinetic effects, non-kinetic effects, jammers, that if it can fit in the back and can be air-launched" then it could be employed to deliver "decisive effects," Bauernfeind said. "When it comes to palletized effects, I'm not looking for big modifications. AdvertisementAdvertisementA palletized effects system in the air during a live-fire test in Norway in November 2022.

Persons: It's, Brandon Esau, Mike Minihan, Minihan, Tony Bauernfeind, Bauernfeind, Brandon Esau Minihan, Derek Solen, Solen, Brigette, Brigette Waltermire Solen Organizations: US Air Force, Service, Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Special, Command, Air Mobility Command, Staff, Air and Space Forces, Washington DC, Air Force Special Operations Command, China National Defense, PLA, Communist, Military Commission, US Air, China Aerospace Studies, Science, US Air National Guard / Tech Locations: Wall, Silicon, China, Florida, Norwegian, Norway

☆ US Air Force special operators' search for new runways is expanding from highways to beaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The growing reach of the Chinese military has the US Air Force worried about its bases. Air Force special operators are widening the search, seeking more roads and even beaches to land on. AdvertisementAdvertisementA Royal Air Force Atlas A400M lands on a beach during at Pembrey Sands in Wales in June 2023. Royal Air ForceNew technology and eventually new aircraft are also helping to expand Air Force Special Operations Command's "runway-agnostic options." Air Force officials say that capability allows the MQ-9s to go to more bases and reduces the number of airmen needed for support.

Persons: Tony Bauernfeind, Bauernfeind, Al Udeid, Kenneth Wilsbach, we're, Command Bauernfeind, We're Organizations: US Air Force, Air Force, Service, Force Special, Command, The Air Force, Agile, Employment, Pacific, Air Force Special Operations Command, Operations Command, Air and Space Forces Association, Christopher Quail, US Air Forces, Royal Air Force Atlas, Royal Air Force, US Air Force Special, DARPA Locations: Wall, Silicon, Europe, Washington, Bagram, Kandahar, Balad, Al, Tinian, Palau, Michigan, Wyoming, Texas, Pembrey Sands, Wales

But as the ramifications of Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s freeze have grown, more of them are speaking out. Political Cartoons View All 1163 ImagesBut now even the Pentagon’s soon-to-be highest military leader is speaking out. It's not the first time general officer promotions have been frozen by a single senator. Six months into Tuberville's hold, 315 military officers are now affected, and the impact cuts deeper in some services. In the small and still growing U.S. Space Force, at least eight general officers’ nominations are on hold — but that’s one third of all of its 25 senior officers.

Persons: Alabama Republican Sen, Tommy Tuberville’s, they’ve, “ We’re, Mark Kelly, Kelly, he’s, Christopher Grady, Mark Milley, C.Q . Brown, can’t, Brown, ” Grady, Grady, there’s, Donald Trump’s, Biden, ”, Mark Harkins, ” Tuberville, Lloyd Austin, Tuberville, Larry Korb, It's, Democratic Sen, Tammy Duckworth, Trump, Alexander Vindman, Duckworth, Vindman, Chance Saltzman, we’re, Charles Flynn, Flynn, Kori Schake, “ It’s, ” Schake, Lisa Franchetti, Franchetti, —, hadn’t, ” Kelly, ” ___ Lita C, Baldor Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Alabama Republican, ” Air Force, Air Combat Command, Uniformed, Chiefs, Air Force, Joint Chiefs, Air and Space Forces Association, Government Affairs Institute, Georgetown University, Biden, Pentagon, Defense Department, Center for American Progress, Democratic, . Space Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Army, American Enterprise Institute, Senate Armed Services Committee, Embassy Locations: Alabama, Maryland, ”, Dobbs, Washington

☆ Ukraine's air force has gotten good at fighting on the run, and Russia's military can't catch up, top US general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ukraine's air force has been able to keep operating by spreading out its jets among different bases. Russia has struggled to catch up to that dispersal, the top US Air Force general in Europe says. That success underscores the US Air Force's need to be able to distribute its jets and crews. Russia began the war with a larger and more advanced air force, including better radars and longer-range missiles. US Air Force crew chiefs perform a "communications out" launch of an F-16 during an exercise in Lithuania in August.

Persons: James Hecker, they've, Hecker, Danil, " Hecker, OLEKSII FILIPPOV, Justin Bronk, Bronk, Dara Massicot, Massicot, Stephanie Longoria Organizations: US Air Force, Service, US Air Forces, Air and Space Forces Association, Washington DC, Getty, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Ukraine, Carnegie Endowment, International, Russian BDA, Air Force, Tech Locations: Russia, Europe, Wall, Silicon, Washington, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russian, Lviv, AFP, Moscow, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland

☆ Nearly five decades after the fall of Saigon, U.S. will help Vietnam boost its military capabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"The United States is committed to continuing to assist Vietnam to develop its self-reliant defense capabilities in accordance with the needs of Vietnam and established mechanism.". Biden said the move represented how much relations have moved on from the "bitter past" of the Vietnam War. "We can trace a 50-year arc of progress between our nations, from conflict to normalization, to this new elevated status," Biden said Sunday. "Vietnam and the United States are critical partners at what I would argue is a very critical time," Biden said. "We think too much in Cold War terms," Biden said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Nguyễn Phú, Biden, I'm, We're, Air Force Frank Kendall, Kendall Organizations: China, Group, Pentagon, ., Air Force, Air and Space Forces Association Locations: Saigon, United States, China, Vietnam, Hanoi , Vietnam, New Delhi, India, Hanoi

General Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, visits the Joint Headquarters of the Russian armed forces involved in military operations in Ukraine, in an unknown location in Russia, in this picture released December 17, 2022. His reported removal suggests the authorities found fault with his behaviour, but the details of his alleged wrongdoing remain unknown. Surovikin earned the nickname "General Armageddon" during Russia's military intervention in Syria for the brutal tactics he employed there. He was placed in charge of Russian military operations in Ukraine last October, but in January that role was handed to General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, and Surovikin was made a deputy to Gerasimov. Afzalov was previously deputy to Surovikin and has been chief of staff of the Aerospace Forces for at least four years, according to British military intelligence.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Russian Air and Space Forces Sergei Surovikin, Viktor Afzalov, General Valery Gerasimov, Afzalov, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS, RBC, Telegram, Ministry of Defence, Russian Air and Space Forces, Main Staff of, Air Force, Reuters, Aerospace Forces, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Kremlin, MOSCOW, Moscow, Syria, Gerasimov, Surovikin

☆ The US Air Force is tinkering with an unusual design for its biggest planes as it prepares for a potential long-range war with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US Air Force sees all those qualities as vital for success in a war in the Pacific region. US Air Force/Air Force AssociationThe design blends the wings and the fuselage, "decreasing aerodynamic drag by at least 30% and providing additional lift," the Air Force said in a release. A US Air Force flight engineer guides an R-11 Refueler next to a C-5M cargo plane at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware in March. A C-130 Hercules lands at Northwest Field, next to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam in February 2010. JetZero has already unveiled a Blended Wing design that the company says will provide a midmarket commercial airliner that's more efficient than the planes it seeks to replace.

Persons: Frank Kendall, Kendall, Air and Space Forces Association . Chaudhary, O'Leary, Tom O'Leary, JetZero, Marco Gomez, Ravi Chaudhary, we've, Tom Jones, Albert Miller, Andrew G, Miller, Jones, Chaudhary, Kathleen Hicks Organizations: Pentagon, US Air Force, Service, Air Force, Air and Space Forces Association ., Air Force Association, The Air Force, Dover Air Force Base, Staff, Northrop Grumman, China's, Air Mobility Command, Northwest Field, Andersen Air Force Base, Refueling, KC, Air Force's, Department Locations: Pacific, Wall, Silicon, China, Delaware, Guam

Early Tuesday, a Ukrainian missile slammed into a hotel in the coastal town of Berdyansk that had been taken over by the Russian military. ‘Colossal support’Russian military bloggers have suggested that both Tsokov and Popov were capable soldiers who inspired loyalty among their men. Tsokov, 51, appears to have been a rising star in the Russian military. Senior Russian general, Ivan Popov, raised questions about the mass deaths and injuries of Russian military personnel. The loss of more capable commanders is another sign that Russia’s “special military operation” is looking less special by the week.

Persons: CNN —, Oleg Tsokov, Tsokov, Ivan Popov, Popov, Valery Gerasimov, vilely, Sergei Shoigu, ”, Vladimir Putin, Rybar, “ Popov, General Popov, “, Wagner, Oleg Surovikin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Surovikin, Prigozhin, Defense Andrei Kartapolov, Kartapolov, specter, OGPU –, Gerasimov, “ alarmism, Shoigu, George Hall, Russia Dara Massicot, Tweeting, Massicot, ” Rybar, upbraided, viscerally, Putin Organizations: CNN, Ukraine –, Southern Military District, Arms Army, Kremlin Press, Major, Institute for, Ukrainian, of Defense, Kremlin, Russia’s Aerospace Forces, State, Defense, Defense Ministry, Senior, Ministry of Defense, Surovik, George Hall of, RAND Corporation, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Armed Forces Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Berdyansk, Russian, Svatove, frontlines, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Senior Russian, St, Russia, Vuhledar

The 56-year-old officer, nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media because of his reputation for ruthlessness, has not been seen publicly since early Saturday. Fighters from Mr. Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group were on the ground in Syria at the time, and reports indicate that both Wagner and General Surovikin used the civil war for financial gain. Besides leading Russian forces in Syria, General Surovikin was in Chechnya in the early 2000s, according to state news media and his biography on the Russian Defense Ministry’s website. Human Rights Watch said in 2020 that he was among military leaders who might bear “command responsibility” for human rights violations in Syria. He was placed on a European Union sanctions list on Feb. 23, 2022, a day before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Surovikin, Bashar al, Assad, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Wagner, General Surovikin, General Surovikin’s, Aleksei Navalny, Russia’s, Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin’s, ” Samuel Ramani, “, ”, Ramani, Mikhail Gorbachev Organizations: New York Times, Fighters, Islamic State militants, Russian Army, Russian Defense Ministry, Royal United Services Institute, Russian Defense, Human Rights Watch, Jamestown Foundation, Union Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Syria, Russia, Ukrainian, Kherson, British, Rostov, Chechnya, Washington

☆ Flying the F-16 in Ukraine is 'high risk,' and Kyiv's air forces can't just fly the fighter jet headlong into Russia's defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

If Kyiv's air forces get the jet as expected, they won't be able to fly them directly at Russian defenses. "And nobody's advocating for that," an air power expert told Insider. Regardless of which jet Ukraine gets, putting fourth-generation air power like the F-16 into a high-intensity conflict is "high risk," Birkey said. A pair of US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. In a recent opinion article for Air and Space Forces Magazine, Larry Stutzriem, a retired Air Force major general and former F-16 pilot, pointed to an Israeli Air Force operation against well-defended Syrian targets in Lebanon in 1982.

☆ B-2 stealth bombers are back flying after the US Air Force grounded the fleet for 5 months in the wake of a fiery landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An Air Force official told Insider that the pause was "precautionary," and was lifted on May 18 by Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. The B-2 Spirit approaches the boom of a McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey KC-10A Extender during a Capstone orientation flight. Scott H. SpitzerThis incident marked the second time in 15 months that there was an emergency involving the B-2 at Whiteman Air Force Base. "We successfully accomplished all necessary actions to safely return to full flight operations with the B-2 fleet. Whiteman Air Force Base is the country's only operational base for the B-2, which was first unveiled in 1988.

☆ The US Air Force has big plans for the next-generation drones that will fight alongside its fighters and bombers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's now developing collaborative combat aircraft, which can fight alongside piloted jets or on their own. A need for 'affordable mass'MQ-9s on a runway at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico in April. Worse, the Air Force faces a pilot shortage and its overall number of flight hours has been decreasing. The Air Force also continues to develop top-tier assets like the F-35, the B-21 stealth bomber, and the Next Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD. "Without it, it's very difficult to envision how we could keep the Air Force at the size it currently is."

☆ The Russian air force's struggles in Ukraine reveal glaring problems in now Moscow trains its pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

Despite being bigger and more advanced than its enemy, Russia's air force has struggled in Ukraine. It's commonly said that Russian fighter pilots are not as well trained as their Western counterparts, particularly those from the United States. But however ineffective you may think Russian pilot training is compared to the West, the truth seems to be … much worse. A Russian air force pilot prepares to take off in an Su-35 fighter jet at Hemeimeem air base in Syria in September 2019. Put simply, the Gulf War air campaign creates a damning juxtaposition when compared directly to Russia's air campaign over Ukraine.

☆ Even with F-16s, Ukraine's pilots still wouldn't be 'out of the woods' against Russia's air force, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Polish and Slovakian MiG-29s would add to Ukraine's fleet and be familiar to Ukrainian pilots but won't bring much more capability than Ukraine's current MiG-29s. 'The hard work'A pilot exits a Polish Air Force F-16 at an airbase in Poznan in November 2006. If the US or another NATO country elected to supply Ukraine with F-16s, Kelly said his first question would be "what sustainment depot are they going to use? "Again, that's just for the short-term of being able to launch or recover aircraft," Baum said. Ukraine's new jets would also be flying against Russian air-defense weapons that have claimed dozens of Ukrainian aircraft and continue to contest the airspace around the front lines.

☆ Poland says it will send MiG fighter jets to Ukraine 'in the next few days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Poland will be the first NATO member to supply about a dozen fighter jets to Ukraine. This makes Poland the first NATO member to supply fighter jets to Ukraine. This plea for fighter jets has been a longstanding request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But Poland's decision to supply military jets to Ukraine may not push other allies to do the same. A White House representative said President Joe Biden has not changed his mind on not giving Ukraine fighter jets.

☆ Fighter jets are 'worthless' over Ukraine, and it's a sign of what US pilots and troops may face in future battles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

As a result, neither side is able to provide close air support to its troops on the front line. US pilots and ground troops may face a similar situation in future wars, US Air Force leaders say. They're not doing a whole lot because they can't go over and do close air support," Hecker said. "Close air support in a contested environment, that's not what we do, no matter who you are," Brown added. William GreerSince taking over as the top Air Force officer in August 2020, Brown has stressed that future battlefields will be more complex and deadly for the Air Force.

☆ Ukrainian pilots are calling the US Air Force for tips on using US-made missiles and bombs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Members of the US Air National Guard have been providing advice for using US-made weaponry. Despite US support, Ukraine's air force is still at a disadvantage against Russia's larger force. Ukraine's air force still faces a tough operating environment. A California Air National Guard officer discusses exercise Safe Skies with his Ukrainian counterparts in July 2011. Ukrainian Air Force via Twitter"We've just got them some precision munitions that have some extended range and go a little bit further than a gravity-dropped bomb," Hecker added.

Search resuls for: "Air and Space Forces"

25 mentions found