Air Force Seeks Next‑Gen Airlifter Surpassing C‑17, Under C‑5 Size
A new Air Force solicitation details some characteristics it wants for the Next Generation Airlift, targeting an improvement on C-17 performance and no bigger than a C-5. https://t.co/kMtUaJPmhU
Navy Bumps UJTS Trainer Budget by $1 Billion
New: The US Navy has raised its max cost to develop the UJTS next-gen trainer by $1 billion. The original limit of $1.7b raised some concern about how realistic that target is for EMD. The new $2.7b ceiling provides more flexibility...
VIP and Support Aircraft Fleets Experience Surge
Turned this to a story for the current issue of @AviationWeek A lot happening in the VIP/support aircraft fleets. https://t.co/Tdm8JVpm2j
CV‑22 HAVOC 51 Earns Top Air Force Safety Honor
The Air Force's annual safety award winners include the top "aircrew of distinction"--the CV-22 "HAVOC 51" aircrew from the 20th SOS that handled a dramatic proprotor gearbox failure in November 2024: https://t.co/xxaip9QktL
SOCOM to Retire U‑28s, Hand STAMP Fleet to Air Force
SOCOM will phase out all of its U-28s by 2029 and transfer the secretive STAMP fleet to the Air Force as it gets completely out of the crewed ISR mission. (the OA-1K doesn't count) https://t.co/jYNsF7XeD5
Pentagon Outlines Timeline and Costs for Air Force One Retirement
Pentagon details the schedule and cost impacts for retiring current the VC-25A "Air Force One" fleet. https://t.co/u50k2jFR0c
YFQ-42A Returns After Software Fixes for Autopilot CG Error
Inbox: General Atomics YFQ-42A back to flight following software updates. April 6 crash was “an autopilot miscalculation for the weight and center of gravity of the aircraft”
DARPA Seeks Autonomous Swarm Drones Inspired by Ukraine
A new DARPA solicitation appears to take lessons from Ukraine's "Spider Web." The agency wants swarming Group 1-3 drones along with storage units that can autonomously launch/recover in contested areas. https://t.co/bo79rvb4S7
DOD Ramps up VIP Transport Purchases Across Services
A minor theme across the DOD budget has been a push to buy more VIP transport and other support aircraft. Here the Marines outline a goal to buy 17 UC-12W+s in 2 years. USAF outlined its C-37 plan, the Army...
Spotting Vintage AVEN: A Glimpse Into Past Eras
Interesting to see the different eras. Assuming the one on the right is the AVEN from back in the day pulled from the warehouse https://t.co/BnIL8th2G2
Marine Corps to Fly Largest U.S. Flag Over NYC
On the Fourth of July, Marine Corps MH-53s will fly gigantic 130 ft x 216ft American flags over NYC as part of the International Aerial Review "This flag will be the largest known flag to fly over New York City." https://t.co/nd2KgFP7g6 https://t.co/o16FnuZmQY
Iran War Costs U.S. $25 B, Comptroller Reports
DOD acting comptroller just now at HASC: War in Iran so far has cost $25 billion
Air Force to Introduce C‑37C, Replacing Legacy Fleet by 2027
The Air Force wants to start recapitalizing its C-37 executive airlift fleet, bringing on the C-37C in 2027 to replace C-37A/Bs. https://t.co/LjA6EBohu2
Air Force Expands KC-46 Fleet to 319, Costs Rise
New: The Air Force wants to greatly increase its KC-46 fleet Long-term plan now includes 319 of the tankers to replace KC-135s. That’s 140 more than the original program of record. Plus, budget docs show fly-away unit costs increasing...
SOCOM to Acquire Three Unnamed Aircraft FY27
Rare non-standard aviation news for those nerds out there 🚨 SOCOM in FY27 will procure three new aircraft in a program called Non-Standard Aviaton-Next as it moves on from the C-146. Specific type not disclosed https://t.co/9Bg80XtX7a