US Air Force

Sometimes you see a vintage plane that makes you scratch your head. Case in point is the US Air Force's X-29 of the 1980s that looks like a fighter with the wings stuck on backwards. Was this a daft mistake or a great leap forward? Let's have a look.

Lockheed Martin's famous-but-secret Skunk Works has released a sort-of-new image of a concept for the company's Next Generation Aerial Refueling System (NGAS) military tanker aircraft for in-flight refueling of multiple warplanes.

Lockheed Martin's famous-yet-secret Skunk Works is conducting live flight tests of its Smart Adaptive Flight Control Environment (SAFE) autonomous AI system on the X-62A. The system can be reconfigured in real time while the X-plane is still in the air.

Electra has shown off the extreme takeoff and landing capabilities of its hybrid-electric Short Takeoff and Landing (eSTOL) Ultra Short prototype aircraft to the US Military. The aircraft is designed to operate from areas without proper airfields.

Giving a preview of the future of military aircraft, General Atomics unveiled a full-scale mock-up of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which is an autonomous warplane designed to augment air forces with cheaper, expendable robotic fighters.

At the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in Washington, DC, the US Air Force and prime contractor Northrop Grumman have released the first video of its B-21 Raider nuclear bomber in flight, along with an update on the B-21 program.

The US Air Force has released video of a ship getting ripped in half, to demonstrate its new Quicksink weapon, which turns an inexpensive dumb bomb into a precision anti-ship missile – and lives up to its name in spectacular fashion.

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.

Looking like a miniature B-21 bomber, DARPA has shown off its new Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) program aircraft. Called the XRQ-73, the long-range hybrid-electric drone is scheduled to fly by the end of the year.

The US Air Force has released a video of the maiden flight of its XQ-67A demonstrator drone. Taken on February 28, 2024, the footage shows the autonomous aircraft strutting its stuff in the skies over Gray Butte Field Airport, Palmdale, California.

Hypersonic aircraft will need hypersonic engines. With that goal in mind, Ursa Major under a US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contract has conducted a series of hotfire tests of its advanced Draper liquid-fuel rocket engine at its Berthoud, Colorado headquarters.

Although snapshots of the B-21 Raider nuclear bomber in flight have been taken previously by the public, these weren't with permission. Now the United States Air Force has released the first official images of the aircraft in the air.