US Air Force

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.

Lockheed Martin's Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) laser weapon, which is being developed for the US Air Force, engaged and destroyed multiple drone threats in a recent field test at a US government test range at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

The US Air Force has successfully tested a component that promises a new generation of high-performance American rocket engines. Called a preburner, the unit allows rockets to operate at a higher pressure and achieve greater levels of thrust.

The USAF's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission 5 has ended in a surprise pre-dawn landing after a record-breaking 780-day flight. Like the previous four missions, the exact purpose of the highly-classified unmanned spaceplane's flight was a secret, though the Air Force says that its general goals were "risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies," as well as the deployment of some small satellites.

The V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft fleet, which been in service with US forces since 2007, has racked up over 500,000 flight hours.

Lockheed Martin, the Missile Defense Agency and the USAF connected an F-35, U-2 spy-plane, and a ground station as part of a missile defense exercise.

The USAF recently unveiled a modification of its B-1B Lancer bomber that will allow it to one day carry hypersonic missiles.

A new US Air Force kit that can turn a conventional aircraft into a robotic one has completed its maiden flight. The ROBOpilot made its first two-hour flight on August 9 at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah after being installed in a 1968 Cessna 206 small aircraft.

After a two-year upgrade of its test facilities, the AEDC Aerodynamic and Propulsion Test Unit at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee has finally been able to test the latest Northrop Grumman scramjet at simulated hypersonic speeds, setting a new thrust record in the process.

Raytheon and Northrop Grumman have formally agreed to collaborate on building an air-breathing hypersonic weapon for DARPA and the US Air Force. Under the new partnership, the two companies will develop, produce, and integrate scramjet combustors into hypersonic tactical missiles.