US Air Force

The US Air Force has announced that it is introducing a new "eSeries" classification for military air and space hardware, indicated by an "e" prefix", that has been digitally engineered and virtually tested before a physical example is ever built.

Two variants of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) being developed for DARPA and the US Air Force have completed their final captive carry flight tests and are now cleared for their first free-flight tests within the next year.

Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force have completed the first flight test of a tactical version of the hypersonic AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW, which was strapped beneath the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress bomber.

Boeing's T-7A Red Hawk Advanced trainer has passed another milestone, with a test prototype traveling upside down for the first time, completing more than a dozen inverted flights with maximum afterburners.

Boeing has won a contract worth almost US$1.2 billion from the US Air Force to build the first tranche of eight F-15EX fighter jets, the most advanced version of the venerable F-15 that began production in the 1970s.

The US Air Force's not-so-secret spaceplane has successfully launched on its sixth mission, OTV-6 (USSF 7). On May 17, 2020, at 13:14 GMT, the unmanned, autonomous spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral atop a specially modified Atlas V 501 rocket.

A secretive space plane developed by the US Air Force is being readied for another outing. Scheduled for May 16, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle’s sixth mission will see a new emphasis placed on onboard experiments.

In a graphic display of self-confidence, Boeing T-7A Red Hawk trainer test pilots jets deliberately shut down the aircraft's single engine and restarted it 48 seconds later as part of a major in-flight safety test.

The jet-powered XQ-58A Valkyrie has returned to the air three months after being damaged in a landing mishap. The demonstrator is part of an effort to develop combat drones that can act independently or as escorts for F-22 or F-35 fighters.

The US Air Force has completed ground test firings at Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, Florida, of a new rocket designed to provide affordable access to hypersonic flight conditions to accelerate development of the technology.

The combined American armed forces recently used a new command and control technology to identify and defeat a simulated cruise missile attack on the United States by collecting, analyzing, and sharing large amounts of data in real-time.

Real-time information from NASA's SMAP spacecraft is being sent to the Air Force's Air Force HQ 557th Weather Wing to improve weather forecasts, warnings and advisories that are more relevant to military operations in all theaters.