Space Force Budget Doubles to $71 Billion
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 year — the most...
Anduril Secretly Building Hypersonic Missiles and Drones
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 that fly faster...
Jolly Green Gets Missile Shield After Iran Rescue
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 helicopter did everything...
Belgium Picks SkyCourier as Its First Special-Ops Plane
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 FedEx packages. It...
Chile’s KC-135 Refuels F-35s in a Latin American First
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 on, took fuel,...
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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