US Air Force

The US Air Force's AFWERX technology accelerator program has announced that in December 2021 it successfully completed the first flight of an electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft with an Air Force pilot at the remote controls.

The United States National Nuclear Security Administration has begun production of its latest air-dropped nuclear weapon variant. The B61-12 Life Extension Program is designed to improve the safety and security of the country's nuclear stockpile.

The US Air Force is fielding an improved "in-flight bladder relief device" called the Omni Generation 3 Skydrate that will allow male and female pilots to fly long air missions with greater safety and comfort.

The USAF is studying the feasibility of a process developed by tech company Twelve that could allow the manufacture of a carbon-neutral aviation fuel called E-Jet anywhere on Earth using only carbon dioxide from the air, water, and renewable energy.

The US Air Force is installing a nuclear micro-reactor at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. Scheduled to go into operation by 2027, the commercially-owned pilot plant could lead to next-gen micro-reactors being used in other remote locations.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Northrop Grumman successfully flew an air-breathing hypersonic missile. Part of a program for DARPA and the US Air Force, the HAWC prototype promises hypersonic missiles that can fly farther and at lower altitudes.

Rolls-Royce North America has been tapped to build the replacement jet engines for the venerable Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress nuclear heavy bomber, with the company's F-130 turbofan engine to power the giant aircraft for the next three decades.

The Secretary of the US Air Force, Frank Kendall, has officially confirmed that five prototypes of the B-21 Raider strategic heavy bomber are under construction by Northrop Grumman at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.

With its planned SPAC merger just a week away, eVTOL air taxi company Archer has announced a new deal with the US Air Force, a vertiport partnership with Reef, and a preliminary win in its court battle with Wisk over allegedly stolen designs.

Forget your friendly little electric air taxis. The USAF wants to take things up a notch with a new generation of high-speed vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Thirty five designs have been presented, here's a peek at a few that caught our eye.

The US Air Force has awarded US$60 million to aerospace startup Hermeus for flight testing of its hypersonic aircraft for military and commercial applications. Capable of flying at Mach 5, the Quarterhorse will be the world's fastest reusable aircraft.

The US Military has decided American dominance in the eVTOL market is a matter of national security, and has now accredited four eVTOL aircraft with military airworthiness to accelerate development. The latest is Kitty Kawk's Heaviside.