MilitaryUSAF Building New Site for Testing B-2 Flight Component RCS and Antenna Calibration By September next year, the U.S. Air Force is to establish a new Composite Aircraft Antenna Calibration Facility (CAACF) at Hill AFB, Utah for testing flight components’ radar cross section (RCS) and…
MilitaryLockheed Martin Awarded $5.1 Billion in F-35 Contracts Lockheed Martin is receiving $5.1 billion in three contracts for the F-35 Lightning II fighter, including Block 4 related upgrades, DoD said on Aug. 28. The largest contract–$3.9 billion through September 2028–is…
MilitaryUSAF Awards RTX F-22 Sensor Upgrade Contract Possibly Worth More Than $1 Billion While the U.S. Air Force’s manned Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter has an uncertain future, the service is moving forward with upgrading sensors on the Lockheed Martin F-22. On Aug. 29,…
MilitaryIf Industry Reaches Price Point for Unmanned Autonomous Fighter, ‘I’ll Be Asking for It,’ LaPlante Says While the U.S. Air Force has not disclosed what its leaders are discussing on the future or lack thereof of the manned Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, DoD acquisition chief William…
MilitaryC-17 Flies with Alternative GPS Magnetic Navigation as Prime PNT System A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane by Boeing recently test flew the Silicon Valley-based SandboxAQ‘s Magnetic Navigation (MagNav) system–leveraging quantum magnetometers and artificial intelligence–as the aircraft’s prime alternative to…
AI & AutonomyCCA Autonomy Contracts Awarded to Five Vendors DAYTON, Ohio–The U.S. Air Force in the last few months awarded classified contracts to five vendors–a mix of traditional defense companies and non-marquee ones–for the autonomy piece of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft…
AI & AutonomyMerlin Labs Says $105 Million C-130J Advanced Automation Contract Stepping Stone for Other SOF Aircraft Boston’s Merlin Labs, Inc. said on June 12 that it has received a $105 million contract from U.S. Special Operations Command to provide advanced automation for the Air Force C-130J airlifter by…
AI & AutonomyUSAF and Merlin Labs Explore Autonomous Options for KC-135 Boston-based Merlin Labs, Inc. said on May 30 that it is using data from flights of a KC-135 at MacDill AFB, Fla., “to better understand crew workload drivers and gather data to…