Boeing nabs $2.4 billion deal for more F-15EX fighters
The award came on the same day that the planemaker secured a contract to build a sixth-generation fighter jet for the US Navy.
What Boeing’s F/A-XX win means for the company, and what challenges come next
The selection raises questions, for example, about how Boeing’s workforce will take on another major program.
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How the industrial base is responding to Air Force, Space Force needs
Demand signals from leadership are shaping investments in design, engineering and manufacturing.
Boeing wins Navy next-gen fighter F/A-XX competition
Boeing's win gives it a monopoly on American sixth-gen fighters, following its 2025 selection to build the F-47.
Raytheon nets potential $20.7 billion AMRAAM deal
Separately, L3Harris announced it won a $6 billion contract from Lockheed Martin for THAAD interceptor propulsion systems.
The Air Force says its China think tank will continue. Its director says it’s basically dead.
The Air Force’s stance that the China Aerospace Studies Institute can function without civilian staff is “not credible,” Brendan Mulvaney told Breaking Defense.
Fate of Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute up in air
The China Aerospace Studies Institute will carry on by “leveraging assigned military service members to accomplish its objectives,” according to an Air Force spokesperson.
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Processor upgrades enable computing at the edge
Avoiding vendor lock and providing more room for sensors and upgrades are critical considerations.
Aussie defense chief confirms missing F-35 parts, says none are ‘sensitive’
After parts reportedly made their way to Hong Kong, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told Breaking Defense that the missing components “are unserviceable and deemed low risk for exploitation."
Air Force bids adieu to EC-130H electronic attack plane
The aircraft will be replaced with the EA-37B, which will carry forward the Compass Call moniker.
After hitting pilot training goal, resolving shortage will take years, Air Force official says
“It’s going to take 15 or 20 years to get those types of people,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Clark Quinn.
US clears $24B F-35 sale for Saudi Arabia
The approval comes a year after President Donald Trump announced Riyadh would be permitted to buy the highly advanced stealth fighters, though lawmakers could still block the sale.
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Three exercises that proved a new approach to C-UAS
Architecture that linked sensors, C2, RF effects, and lasers into a distributed c-UAS kill chain.
Air Force seeks 737 MAX for VIP airlift
The aircraft would be known as the C-40 when modified for military missions, and would appear to be the first time the 737 MAX would be militarized for a government customer.
Space Force’s GMTI program gets a name, with Northrop as prime: General
Separately, the Space Force plans to issue the first operational contracts for space domain awareness to commercial firms “very soon,” according to Space Force Col. Timothy Tremailo.
F-35 engine upgrade clears key design review, Pratt says
“It means that the design is solid. It means that we're ready to move forward from an industrial base as well,” Jill Albertelli, the president of Pratt & Whitney's military engines business, told Breaking Defense.
Budget impasse imperils 1 in 10 Space Force programs, new chief says
“We’re thankful that we have a [continuing resolution] going into October [1], but I would really be more thankful if we had a budget,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. Doug Schiess.