Space Force Budget Doubles to $71 Billion
Share this story The United States Space Force is six years old, has fewer personnel than the New York City Police Department, and just asked Congress for $71 billion. If approved, the 2027 budget request would nearly double the service’s funding in a single...
Anduril Secretly Building Hypersonic Missiles and Drones
Share this story Palmer Luckey sold virtual reality headsets to Facebook for two billion dollars, then used the proceeds to build a defence company that makes autonomous weapons. Now that company — Anduril Industries — is quietly hiring engineers to design missiles...
Jolly Green Gets Missile Shield After Iran Rescue
Share this story The HH-60W Jolly Green II flew into Iran on April 2 to rescue the crew of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle. It found the pilot, pulled him aboard, and took hits from small arms fire on the way out — wounding crew members but staying airborne. The...
Belgium Picks SkyCourier as Its First Special-Ops Plane
Share this story Belgium has an unconventional taste in special operations aircraft. While most NATO allies shop for modified business jets or purpose-built gunships, Brussels just placed an order for five Cessna 408 SkyCouriers — a twin-turboprop designed to haul...
Chile’s KC-135 Refuels F-35s in a Latin American First
Share this story At 26,000 feet over the Pacific, a Chilean Air Force KC-135E extended its boom toward a pair of American fighters that no South American nation has ever operated. Two F-35A Lightning IIs from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, locked...
The Ride That Nearly Killed Chuck Yeager
Quick Facts PilotColonel Chuck Yeager, USAF — the first human to break the sound barrier (1947) AircraftLockheed NF-104A Aerospace Trainer — an F-104 Starfighter modified with a 6,000-lb thrust Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket motor DateDecember 10, 1963 Peak Altitude108,700...
Pushed by Angels: The Me 262’s Doomed Revolution
Quick Facts AircraftMesserschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (“Swallow”) — the world’s first operational jet fighter First FlightJuly 18, 1942 (jet-only power); entered service April 1944 Top Speed870 km/h (540 mph) — roughly 150 km/h faster than any Allied...
When Fatigue Kills: The Hidden Safety Crisis in Wartime Flying
Quick Facts ProblemSustained combat operations push aircrew into fatigue levels that measurably degrade performance — slower reactions, impaired judgement, tunnel vision Epic Fury ContextB-2 crews flying 36-hour missions, tanker crews on 18-hour sorties, fighter...
Spain Picks Pilatus PC-24 to Replace Its Citation Fleet
Quick Facts Aircraft SelectedPilatus PC-24 “Super Versatile Jet” — twin-engine light jet built in Stans, Switzerland ReplacesSpain’s fleet of Cessna Citation liaison and transport aircraft OperatorsSpanish Air and Space Force (Ejército del Aire y del...
Cheap, Lethal, and by the Thousand: The Air Force’s New Cruise Missile
Quick Facts ProgrammeStandoff Attack Weapon (SoAW) — a new air-launched cruise missile designed for affordability and mass production Target Fielding2030–2033 Industry DayJune 17, 2026 — Eglin Air Force Base, Florida Managed ByAir Force Life Cycle Management Center...
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