US Air Force

One of the US Air Force's first official combat drones has taken to the air after only a year of building and development. General Atomics's YFQ-42A is currently undergoing flight testing in anticipation of a future fleet of 1,000 autonomous planes

In a meeting of the cutting-edge and the mundane, the US Air Force has awarded a contract to purchase Reliable Robotics' autonomous flight technology and integrate it into an ordinary Cessna 208B Caravan utility aircraft for uncrewed cargo missions.

The US Air Force celebrated the 70th anniversary of the famous U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane on July 31, 2025 – not with a cake but by setting new endurance records for the class of aircraft on the first long-duration flight of the U-2 in 11 years.

In a major milestone for modular nuclear power on the way to the mainstream, the US Department of the Air Force has issued a Notice of Intent to Award (NOITA) to Oklo that may lead to the construction and operation of a military reactor in Alaska.

America's latest nuclear-armed delivery platform breaks cover as the US Air Force releases a rendering of its cutting-edge AGM-181A Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) missile. The missile that has recently undergone flight testing is set to replace its Cold War predecessor.

The US Air Force is investing in a transport system that could one day deliver 100 tonnes for cargo or personnel by rocket to any spot on Earth in under 90 minutes. Unimaginatively called Rocket Cargo, it may begin preliminary tests next year.

Given the fact that satellites orbit amongst one another at thousands of miles per hour, it's important to know exactly how fast they're going. A new device offers an improved way of doing so, and it's appropriately named the Spacecraft Speedometer.

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has shown off the United States' latest nuclear weapon as full production begins seven months ahead of schedule. The B61-13 variable-yield gravity bomb is part of a major program to modernize the American nuclear deterrent.

The US Air Force has announced that it will go ahead with the production of the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. Expected to enter service by the end of the decade, it will replace the F-22 Raptor as America's air supremacy fighter.

The age of the piloted fighter aircraft may not be over but the US Air Force has shown that it may be time to start collecting the coats, as it has designated two prototype combat drones as official combat aircraft.

A surprisingly simple tweak is making a venerable military transport aircraft more efficient. Literally gluing a few microvanes to the rear fuselage of a C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane can result in fuel savings in the tens of millions of dollars.

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.