News
General: 8% cuts ‘painful,’ but could bring fresh funds for Air Force
An Air Force two-star general warned Wednesday that potential 8% cuts to the service’s budget would be “painful.”
Boeing’s little Bird Helicopter production set to end
Boeing expects to shutter its production of the Little Bird light helicopter after fulfilling a current contract with the Thai armed forces.
Film star, Oscar winner and former Marine Gene Hackman dies at 95, report says
Gene Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner and former Marine, was found dead Wednesday afternoon along with his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, in their home in Santa Fe, N.M., according to a report in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper.
Air Force
Axing Next Generation fighter would leave Air Force worse off: Force design boss
The U.S. Air Force’s force design director says analyses to date show the service will face more operational risk and be less able to achieve assigned objectives without a new crewed sixth-generation combat jet.
Stratotanker joins string of precautionary landings on Okinawa, report says
A KC-135 Stratotanker made a precautionary landing Wednesday at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, according to a local media report.
Senior RAF officer talks Europe’s premier air exercise
Exercise Cobra Warrior is the premier air exercise run by the Royal Air Force.
Space Force
War of words heats up over Space Force’s strategic posture
A recent critique of the U.S. Space Force’s guiding principles for competing against adversaries has provoked strong pushback from the Space Force’s leadership and its advocates, exposing disagreements about how the U.S. should prepare for potential conflicts beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
USSF paused AI adoption in ’23; Now it’s looking to automate ops
Less than 18 months after telling Guardians to quit using ChatGPT and other emerging artificial intelligence tools while the service examined the risks and opportunities they posed, a Space Force leader said Feb. 26 the service has “done so much” to explore and expand AI adoption.
Defense
Ground-launched and powered air-launched versions of StormBreaker glide bomb are in development
Raytheon has revealed that it’s working on a ground-launched version of its StormBreaker glide bomb, previously available only in air-launched form.
Veterans
VA claims $2B in savings from contract cuts — then reverses course
Veterans Affairs leaders this week touted $2 billion in savings for department efforts from canceled government contracts they insist were not providing real benefits to veterans, but critics are warning the efforts could seriously jeopardize some health and benefits services.
