News
Air Force’s costliest accidents, maintainer injuries rose in 2023
The number of airborne mishaps has plateaued, but a spike in maintenance-related incidents has cost the Air Force millions of dollars and — increasingly often — injured airmen on the job.
Ukrainian forces rig machine gun networks to down Russian drones
Ukrainian forces have rigged an elaborate network of sensors in the country that feeds targeting data to heavy machine guns for downing Russian combat drones, according to analysts.
Defense, VA budget work begins on Capitol Hill as Congress returns
Congress returns to Capitol Hill on Monday after its spring break with a long list of budget hearings on tap, including planned appearances from top Defense Department and Veterans Affairs leaders.
Air Force
Air Force Academy cadets to study total solar eclipse, support NASA research
Cadets and faculty at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) will be studying the total solar eclipse on April 8.
Lancelot, an aging B-1B bomber, is being pulled out of retirement and going back into service
Air Force maintenance teams are pulling a decommissioned B-1B Lancer bomber out of the boneyard and plan to put it back into active-duty service to replace another Lancer that was damaged in a fire.
Air Force Materiel Command details Air Force reorganization impact
Air Force Materiel Command — the major Wright-Patterson Air Force Base-headquartered mission responsible for equipping the Air Force — revealed new details Thursday on how the Air Force’s planned reorganization will impact it.
What will the elevation of Air Forces Cyber look like?
Nearly two months after Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall announced sweeping organizational changes, details are still unclear regarding one such initiative involving elevating AFCYBER.
Air Force wants $1.3 billion to finish design for new fighter engine
The Air Force has requested $1.3 billion over the next three years to compete development of a new engine to power the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter, which will succeed the F-22. The effort, already well underway, picks up where the Adaptive Engine Transition Program left off, and may yield a new powerplant ready for production in the 2028 time period.
Space Force
First Space Force guardians graduate from Army drill sergeant school
Two Space Force guardians this week became the first in the newest service branch to receive the distinctive Army drill sergeant hat.
Defense
Ursa Major to build rocket motor prototype for US Navy
The Navy awarded propulsion company Ursa Major a contract to prototype and test a solid rocket-motor for the service’s Standard Missile program.
Boeing to shutter Super Hornet line in 2027 after final Navy order: Boeing VP
The desire for technical data rights “is one of those areas where industry and government have been at odds for a long time. And certainly Boeing on F-18 and the Navy as well,” Boeing fighters VP Mark Sears told Breaking Defense. “So being able to put that on a path to final resolution … is a really positive step.”
Veterans
Veteran prescriptions for addictive ADHD drugs are not being properly vetted and tracked, watchdog says
Department of Veterans Affairs prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD, should be made tougher to obtain in the future, according to a new report by the VA inspector general.
VA hospital missed a lung cancer diagnosis, suit claims. It settled for $850,000
An alleged failure to timely diagnose a veteran’s lung cancer at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Dorn Medical Center in Columbia, S.C., has led to a settlement of $850,000 to his widow.