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By Garrett Reim2021-02-26T21:24:00+00:00
The US Air Force (USAF) believes that in hindsight the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus in-flight refuelling tanker, which has been plagued with delays, functionality problems and cost overruns, might have had less problems if it was not on a fixed-price contract.
The service initially believed the tanker, which is based on the Boeing 767 airliner, would be relatively easy to develop and thus there would be low risk for delays. However, 10 years after the contract was first issued to Boeing, the USAF says new technology developed for the KC-46A likely needed additional funding support from the US government to reach a higher level of maturity.
By Garrett Reim2021-02-26T23:37:00+00:00
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL’s) Golden Horde collaborative munitions programme had its first successful demonstration last week.
The Golden Horde programme intends to network multiple munitions, such as precision glide-bombs and decoys, so that the weapons can exchange information and swarm targets in unison. The first demonstration of the technology last December partly failed due to a software problem.
Source: US Air Force
Golden Horde programme Collaborative Small Diameter Bombs
“Just last week, we took the next step from looking at two collaborative munitions to four collaborative munitions that successfully hit four separate targets all at the same time. This was a great step forward in this programme,” Brigadier General Heather Pringle, commander of AFRL, said during a press conference at the Air Force Association’s Aerospace Warfare Symposium on 24 February.
Acting Secretary of the Air Force John Roth made his comments about Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the new administration as well as a range of other topics during a 30-minute “virtual fireside chat” at the Air Force Association’s Aerospace Warfare,
The US Air Force (USAF) is pondering replacing its Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft and the commander of the Pacific Air Forces wants the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail.