Tag Archives: Air Force

News related to the United States Air Force

Defense Department, tech

Air Force, Army leaders lay out joint UAS future

The Air Force and Army try to get their large UAS acts together with “Task 11”, a concept of how to go forward with unmanned aerial systems in both services.

The Army has been hot to get its own UASs dedicated to frontline units, to forward deploy them for both C4ISR missions and as potential supporting weapons platforms. The Air Force recently created a whole UAV pilot career track, as Air Force leaders see UAVs as a rapidly growing part of the Air Force mission–and are putting rated pilots in charge of them.

The new “concept” unifies how the Air Force and Army TRADOC look at UASs, which means that there should be a bit less confusion about whose Raptor or Predator is dropping what on who.

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Contractors & Vendors, Defense Department

Australian MP: US selling allies short on F-22

An Australian member of parliament says the US is giving its allies the shaft by not selling them the F-22 Raptor, and sticking them with the less-capable Joint Strike Fighter.

Key US allies – particularly Australia, Britain, Japan and, although with a very different relationship, Israel – have been told the Raptor is simply too good for them and that they will have to be content with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (and a hobbled export model at that, to ensure even America’s closest friends remain inferior in the skies).

Considering that the survival of the F-22 program is in considerable doubt, and the dependence of the US to achieve its mission overseas on coalition partners, maybe it’s time for the US to rethink its policy on exports?

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