All Department of Defense articles
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Analysis‘Brightest explosion that I’ve ever seen’: inside US effort to develop a bomb for Iran’s nuclear sites
The US military’s top officer says development of the bunker-busting 13,600kg (30,000lb) GBU-57 bomb began 15 years ago and involved significant use of supercomputers.
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NewsUS Air Force seeks to retire all A-10 Warthogs by 2027
Congress must approve the plan, which would see the US Air Force accelerate retirement of its entire A-10 fleet by two years.
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NewsTrump Administration ‘all in’ on F-47 but plans minimal funding for F/A-XX naval fighter
A senior Pentagon official tells FlightGlobal the Trump Administration will focus resources on developing a sixth-generation fighter on the US Air Force’s F-47 programme, with the US Navy’s new carrier-based equivalent in a holding pattern.
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NewsPentagon acquisitions process ‘inadequate’ for modern threats
An independent review by the US Government Accountability Office describes the Pentagon’s acquisition process as “inadequate” in adapting to evolving threats and integrating emerging innovation, while taking too long to deliver new equipment.
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NewsUS defence secretary casts further doubt on E-7 acquisition plan
In recent congressional testimony, US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth gave the clearest indication yet that his Pentagon has soured on the battlefield value of Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control platform.
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NewsRaytheon increases AIM-9X production rate to 2,500 missiles annually
A $1.1 billion contract from the US Navy will support additional production of the heat-seeking missile at a time when Western military leaders warn that stocks of precision munitions are dangerously insufficient for protracted high-intensity conflicts.
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NewsHoneywell: software change could offer 25% boost to F-35 power, cooling
The aviation systems manufacturer is positioning itself as the low-risk choice for a much-anticipated Pentagon programme to upgrade the onboard power generation and cooling capacity of the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter.
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In depthTrump plan for gifted Qatari 747 confounds aviation observers and ethics experts
Aerospace analysts say converting a questionably sourced aircraft for presidential transport does not make financial sense and poses a myriad of security concerns, while ethics lawyers say the move violates rules against American officials receiving gifts from abroad.
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NewsUS accepts Qatari 747-8I BBJ for presidential transport
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has accepted a Boeing 747-8I Boeing Business Jet from Qatar to serve as Air Force One, a mission that will require extensive modifications.
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NewsUS Army completes first flight with GE Aerospace T901 turboshaft
The army’s head of aviation procurement confirmed the recent milestone, amid ongoing uncertainty around the future of the new GE Aerospace turboshaft engine.
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NewsDARPA to fund assembly of only one High Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing design
Bell and Aurora Flight Sciences have taken radically different approaches in a Pentagon X-plane contest to develop an experimental aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically, while also achieving fixed-wing jet speeds in horizontal flight.
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NewsPentagon sending decommissioned F-16s to Ukraine for spare parts
The US Air Force says it is providing non-operational Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to Ukraine to support the sustainment of Kyiv’s fleet of used jets provided by European allies.
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NewsUS Army targets ‘obsolete’ aircraft for cuts, including AH-64D and MQ-1C
In a sweeping overhaul of the service’s force structure, senior Pentagon officials have directed the US Army to end procurement of “obsolete” and “outdated” aircraft platforms, including the Boeing AH-64D and General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle uncrewed aerial vehicle.
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NewsAurora completes wind-tunnel testing on experimental fan-in-wing design
Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences is a finalist in an X-plane competition organised by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to deliver a vertical-take-off-and-landing-capable aircraft that can also fly at fixed-wing-jet speeds.
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In depthLockheed will not protest Boeing win in USAF sixth-generation fighter effort
Although the military airframer was unsuccessful in its bid to produce the US Air Force’s forthcoming sixth-generation fighter, Lockheed Martin plans to incorporate design features from the prototype into the F-35 chassis for an aircraft that can deliver “80% of sixth-generation capability” at a reduced price.
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AnalysisTrump Administration takes aim at reforming sluggish arms export system
The creaking bureaucracy associated with the USA’s Foreign Military Sales system has long been the subject of criticism from Pentagon leaders and defence industry executives.
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NewsSierra Nevada expanding Australia presence amid AUKUS optimism
The American military systems integrator recently opened a subsidiary based in Adelaide, which will help support Australian acquisition programmes including the Boeing P-8 and Northrop Grumman MQ-4C, while also expanding the domestic production of defence technology.
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AnalysisWashington moves to deepen industrial ties with Australia amid regional tensions
Under an initiative dubbed the Regional Sustainment Framework, the Pentagon aims to push certain maintenance, repair and overhaul functions forward to overseas partners around the Indo-Pacific, with Australia as the initial target.
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In depth‘There is no kill switch’: Pentagon denies F-35 rumours as calls grow to ditch US defence products
With allied governments and industrial competitors now openly discussing possible cancellation of orders for the American stealth fighter, the Pentagon’s F-35 office is officially denying unsubstantiated rumours it can remotely disable the jets of overseas operators.
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NewsCollins advances bid to supply new F-35 power and cooling system
Although the Pentagon has not decided how to address long-term power and cooling needs of the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter, aviation systems supplier Collins Aerospace is hoping to oust current provider Honeywell Aerospace on the lucrative programme.