US Air Force

The United States military is plunging into the robotic future of aerial warfare with both feet as awards are issued to General Atomics and Anduril for not just the development, but the mass production of hundreds of autonomous combat aircraft.

In another illustration of how defense programs are being fast-tracked, the US Air Force has, for the first time, placed an operational pilot alongside a test pilot early in the flight-testing program for the B-21 Raider nuclear bomber.

When you have a new ICBM, you need a place to keep it, so Northrop Grumman is building a prototype silo for the US Air Force to house its next-generation LGM-35A Sentinel nuclear missile that will replace the Cold War Minuteman III.

The legendary Cold War-era Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady spyplane is getting a new lease on life as BAE Systems gives it an upgraded version of the AN/ALQ-221 Advanced Defensive System (ADS) to protect the aircraft against modern radar and electronic warfare threats.

The US Air Force is stomping on the accelerator to field advanced hypersonic missiles as the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Ursa Major announce the successful completion of a flight test of the mass-producible Draper liquid rocket engine.

In what may be a hint of things to come or a subtle act of disinformation, Pratt & Whitney has released a video possibly featuring a tantalizing new image of the Boeing F-47 sixth-generation fighter plane being developed for the US Air Force to replace the F-22.

In a world first, the US Department of Defense (aka the Department of War) airlifted a complete 5-MW nuclear reactor using a C-17 Globemaster III transport from March Air Reserve Base, California to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, for assembly and operation.

The software and hardware that will control tomorrow's combat drones got a workout on January 18, as a General Atomics MQ-20 Avenger showed off its capability by autonomously intercepting a crewed aggressor aircraft in an air combat exercise.

What looks like a flying egg, was never designed to land, and was so light it could be thrown off course by its own guns? Introducing the Goblin XF-85 – the Cold War compact fighter designed to be carried in the belly of a nuclear bomber.

The uncrewed fighter plane field is getting a tad crowded and Northrop Grumman is adding to the congestion with Project Talon. Intended to operate alongside jets like the F-35 and F-22, Talon is designed as a multi-mission Loyal Wingman aircraft.

A few days ago, California-based defense tech firm Anduril concluded the first test flights of its semi-autonomous Fury fighter jet without a pilot in the cockpit. Oh wait, there's actually no cockpit in there at all.

The US Air Force's second B-21 Raider nuclear bomber has taken to the skies for the first time. The second of a planned fleet of 100, the sixth-gen aircraft took off from Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, California facility on September 11 at 8:00 am.