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North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced that the U.S. military intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday ahead of Joe Biden's speech.NORAD detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian TU-95 and two PRC H-6 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on July 24, 2024. NORAD fighter jets from the United States and Canada conducted the intercept.The Russian and PRC aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian and PRC activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen...

FARNBOROUGH AIRSHOW 2024 — Amid a revolution in air combat, the head of the US Air Force said Saturday he’s “reasonably confident” America’s next-generation fighter aircraft will have a pilot, leaving the door open, however slightly, for a radical departure from a fully manned system. “I’m confident there’s going to be a sixth-generation fighter. I’m reasonably confident that it’s going to be crewed,” Kendall told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview over the weekend. That the Air Force is seemingly unsure whether the aircraft will need a pilot, and presumably a cockpit to house them, suggests the service may need...

Russia’s Su-57 Felon Next-generation Fighter Has Its Wings Clipped: It hasn’t been a good summer for the Russian Air Force, and now the Ukrainians are adding insult to injury. One of Russia’s most vaunted warbirds – the Sukhoi Su-57 Felon – was destroyed by a Ukrainian drone strike in June. The resilient and intrepid Ukrainians have raised the stakes in the war against Russia by using drones in deep attack mode. The destruction of the single-seat twin-engine Su-57 Felon must have created another headache for air force leaders in Moscow because it is one of the jewels in the Russian...

President @realDonaldTrump greeted by USAF Airmen in Milwaukee! 🇺🇸

Listen -- 1:55 Petty Officer 2nd Class Courtney Strahan / DVIDS [Caption] Vice Adm. John Wade, Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet and Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 Combined Task Force (CTF) Commander, center, and task force leadership take questions during the opening press conference for RIMPAC 2024 held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on June 27, 2024. Twenty-nine countries and over 25,000 military personnel are coming together for the world’s largest maritime military exercise. The Rim of the Pacific exercise, better known as RIMPAC, happens every two years in Hawaiʻi. This year, it will involve 40 ships, three submarines...

An open-secret American spy plane has broken cover after the US Air Force released photos of its Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA). Built by DZYNE, the semi-classified drone is now confirmed as deployed and active. The recent unrest in the Middle East, and especially in the Red Sea have been a proving ground for Western military technology, tactics, and policy. The MQ-9 Reapers used for long-range reconnaissance to guard against terrorist attacks on shipping, as well as other on other missions, have been invaluable. Unfortunately, one hard lesson is that the Reaper is vulnerable and at a cost of...

The Ukrainian air force’s Dolgintsevo air base is one of the most vulnerable bases in Ukraine. Situated near Kryvyi Rih just 45 miles from the front line in southern Ukraine, the base is within range of Russia’s best Lancet drones. Since the extended-range version of the Lancet—the so-called “Product 53”—debuted in August, the drones have attacked Dolgintsevo every few weeks, aiming for any warplanes parked in the open at the base’s tarmacs. In nine months, Lancets have struck at least four jets at Dolgintsevo: two Mikoyan MiG-29s and two Sukhoi Su-25s. The first two strikes, last fall, took the Ukrainian...

The U.S. Air Force is facing a lawsuit over claims it refused to release documents related to its transgender program.

US Air Force Global Strike Command will conduct two test launches of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles from Vanderberg Space Force Base this coming week. The tests come amid raging tensions between Russia and NATO amid the escalating proxy war in Ukraine, but likely aren’t worth panicking over, observers have told Sputnik.

During their final year at the Air Force Academy (AFA), cadets choose the specific jobs they will be assigned while on active duty. This crucial decision, made in the nascence of one’s career, has far reaching implications with regard to career advancement. The Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) links available jobs with an alphanumeric designation, and not surprisingly, pilot training represents the most popular AFSC for graduating cadets at the AFA. But the second choice is astonishing for cadets who have received a four year education worth $416,000 at an institution that is tasked to train career Air Force officers....

The House is considering a new program that would allow those in the Air Force and Space Force to grow beards. The House Armed Services Committee added the beard proposal to the committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation would be the strongest reform on facial hair for service members to date. The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), would have the Air Force secretary “establish a pilot program to allow members of the Air Force and Space Force to grow beards.” They would then study “the effect of beard growth on discipline, morale and unity...

The last surviving Triple Ace pilot from World War II is gone. Brigadier General Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson of Auburn died at about 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, daughter Kitty Burlington confirmed Saturday in a call with the Auburn Journal. Anderson decided two weeks ago to stop dialysis treatment, Burlington said. Anderson earned Triple Ace status in World War II with 16¼ kills, two probable kills, two damaged aircraft and one enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground. Over 116 combat missions, Anderson’s two “Old Crow” P-51 Mustangs were never hit by even a single enemy bullet. “He’s kind of a...

An Air Force instructor pilot died early in the morning on May 14 from injuries sustained when the pilot’s T-6A Texan II training plane ejection seat activated during ground operations the day before, the 82nd Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, announced in a press release. “An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway,” the wing wrote, adding that the pilot’s name is being withheld for 24 hours to notify his or her next of kin. The 82nd is the host unit at Sheppard, but the pilot was assigned to the 80th Flying Training Wing, the...

Israel has decided to hit Iran “clearly and forcefully” and is already preparing its warplanes to carry out the strike, according to a report on Monday. The reported decision comes after two war cabinet meetings in which leaders of the Jewish nation debated how to respond to Saturday’s barrage of 350 suicide drones and missiles. Israel’s Channel 12 news carried the report — which was widely picked up in local media. Channel 12 said the country’s air force — which includes US-made F-16, F-15 and F-35 fighter jets — is already gearing up to deliver a retaliatory counter-strike against the...

Langley Air Force Base, located in one of the most strategic areas of the country, across the Chesapeake Bay from the sprawling Naval Station Norfolk and the open Atlantic, was at the epicenter of waves of mysterious drone incursions that occurred throughout December. The War Zone has been investigating these incidents and the response to them for months. We know that they were so troubling and persistent that they prompted bringing in advanced assets from around the U.S. government, including one of NASA's WB-57F high-flying research planes. Now the U.S. Air Force has confirmed to us that they did indeed...

More than 1,000 drones per month are crossing into US airspace near the border with Mexico, a top general told lawmakers Thursday. The number of unmanned drone incursions is “alarming” and presents a “growing” potential threat to national security, Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of North American Defense Command and US Northern Command, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “The number of incursions was something that was alarming to me as I took command last month,” Guillot said in response to a question from Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC). “I don’t know the actual number – I...

WASHINGTON — The US Air Force will request a total of $188.1 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, part of a budget submission that asks lawmakers to greenlight the retirement of 250 aircraft, officials revealed today. In a Friday briefing with reporters ahead of the budget release, Kristyn Jones, who is performing the duties of the Air Force Undersecretary, said that the service’s budget would grow by about 1.6% compared to the FY24 request of $185.1 billion, an increase of $3 billion. For the Department of the Air Force (DAF), which includes the Space Force, the DAF’s topline would grow...

Irish military aircraft are to be dispatched to the Middle East to help get vital humanitarian aid into Gaza, under plans being considered by the Government. Under the proposals, Ireland will work with Jordan to air drop emergency humanitarian supplies into the region which is at risk of widespread famine due to the ongoing Israeli assault. The move follows similar operations carried out by the United States and Jordan last weekend. Under the plans being considered by Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs will work with military officials to transport aid into Jordan, which will then be parachuted into Gaza....

Public video of Miss America laying a wreath at Arlington National Cemetary renders a hand salute rather than the “civilian” hand over your heart ! A CLASS ACT under criticism because she CHOSE to render a hand salute which she as an Active Duty AIRMAN has the option to do so whether in uniform or not. What say you?

The Russian air force lost another Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber on Thursday, the Ukrainian air force claimed. If confirmed, the Thursday shoot-down would extend an unprecedented hot streak for Ukrainian air-defenses. The Ukrainian claim they’ve shot down 11 Russian planes in 11 days: eight Su-34s, two Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and a rare Beriev A-50 radar plane. But those 11 claimed losses are worse than they might seem for the increasingly stressed Russian air force. In theory, the air arm has plenty more planes. In practice, the service is dangerously close to collapse.