US Air Force

In a presentation long on stagecraft and short on hard facts, Northrop Grumman has revealed the US Air Force's long-anticipated B-21 Raider stealth nuclear strategic bomber, which will replace all other heavy bombers in the American inventory.

Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force have announced that the B-21 Raider strategic heavy nuclear strike bomber will make its public debut at an invitation-only event in the first week of December at Northrop's Palmdale, California facility.

The US hypersonic weapons program has reached a major milestone, with a Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) hypersonic cruise missile developed by Raytheon Technologies and Northrop Grumman completing two successful flight tests in a row.

In a double-shot of hypersonics news, the US Air Force has conducted an air-launched flight test of its AGM-183A hypersonic missile, while DARPA has successfully test fired a prototype of its OpFires ground-based hypersonic missile launch system.

Reaction Engines has built a precooler for its SABRE engine that can chill a hypersonic airstream from 1,000 °C to -150 °C in 1/20th of a second. Now it's doing tests with the USAF and DoD to prove it can upgrade other existing jets to handle Mach 4.

For the first time, the US Air Force has successfully recovered a reusable rocket sled traveling at hypersonic speed. The test in late March was part of the USAF's Hypersonic Sled Recovery project and saw the sled reach 5.6 times the speed of sound.

Preparing for its first flight in 2023, Northrop Grumman has subjected a prototype of its B-21 Raider nuclear bomber to its first loads calibration test to verify the airframe's structural integrity as it moves through production to flight readiness.

It was fourth time's the charm as the US Air Force successfully launched its hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) from a B-52H Stratofortress on May 14 off the coast of Southern California, following three failures.

The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has demonstrated the ability of air-dropped bombs to sink ships with the effectiveness of a submarine-launched torpedo at a fraction of the cost by sinking a full-scale vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.

Boeing has taken the wraps off the first production T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer jet that is slated for delivery to the US Air Force. The first of an initial order of 351, the aircraft features special livery honoring the Tuskegee Airmen.

The US Air Force Research Laboratory and Air Force Office of Scientific Research are planning to live-stream a rocket launch in Virginia tonight, running hypersonic tests on the Bolt II flight system at speeds up to Mach 6.

Reno-based Valkyrie Systems Aerospace has received a research grant from the US Air Force to further develop its remarkable HoverJet Guardian concept, which combines electric VTOL and high-speed jet cruise with amphibious and hovercraft capabilities.