Transports

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A U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Jan. 31, 2025. Designed for close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance, the AC-130J provides CENTCOM forces an expeditionary, direct-fire platform with 30mm and 105mm cannons. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gerald R. Willis)
Air

Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile-Armed AC-130J Gunships Could Be On The Horizon

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 8, 2025

A CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft assigned to the 20th Special Operations Squadron approaches the air-refueling receptacle of an MC-130 Commando II during a night flight at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, Sept. 12, 2024. The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft that combines a helicopter's vertical takeoff, hover, and vertical landing qualities with the long-range, fuel efficiency, and speed characteristics of a turboprop aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Gracelyn Hess)
News & Features

Electronic Warfare Lessons From Ukraine Informing Air Force Special Operations Future

By Howard Altman

Updated on May 5, 2025

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 07: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a model of Air Force One on the table, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is meeting with Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to release Israeli hostages from Gaza and newly imposed U.S. tariffs. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Air

Is An ‘Interim’ Air Force One Replacement Even Feasible?

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on May 2, 2025

F-16 Fighting Falcons sit in the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. on Jul. 30, 2010. The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group is converting F-16s into usable manned or drone targets allowing Air Force to train and test new weapons platforms in the process. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Desiree N. Palacios)
Air

F-16s Pulled From U.S. Boneyard Are Being Delivered To Ukraine For Spare Parts

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on May 1, 2025

Aurora Flight Sciences has provided new details about the demonstrator design it is working on for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Liberty Lifter X-plane program.
Air

Liberty Lifter Ekranoplan Demonstrator Aims To Lift C-130-Sized Payloads

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 29, 2025

When the U.S. wanted to shift a Patriot battery from the Pacific to the Middle East, it took 73 C-17 flights to do so, highlighting sustainment concerns.
Air

It Took 73 C-17 Loads To Move Patriot Battalion From Pacific To Middle East

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 10, 2025

A senior Navy aviation officer says the three-month-long grounding of virtually all Osprey tiltrotors worldwide following the fatal crash of a U.S. Air Force CV-22B off the coast of Japan in 2023 sent serious ripples through his service.
Air

CMV-22 Grounding Was “Wakeup Call” For Navy, Stakes Higher With C-2 Gone Next Year

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 8, 2025

The Black Arrow, also known as the Small Cruise Missile, has completed a guided flight test, from an AC-130J Ghostrider gunships, the weapon’s manufacturer Leidos has confirmed. The Black Arrow — which is intended to carry a range of different payloads, and not just a kinetic warhead — arrives at a time when the Pentagon is looking at harnessing the potential of lower-cost weapons that can be readily produced at scale to meet the likely demands of future conflicts.
Air

AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship Launches Black Arrow Small Cruise Missile In New Video

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 5, 2025

C-32 in Greenville without its paint.
Air

C-32A ‘Air Force 2’ Jet Like You’ve Never Seen One Before

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 31, 2025

New imagery shows the progress made on North Korea’s shadowy airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, based on an Ilyushin Il-76 Candid airlifter, and which you can read more about in our analysis of when it first broke cover. Since the start of this year the aircraft now had its rotodome fitted, putting paid to any suggestion that it’s intended for a role other than AEW&C.
Air

Our Best Look At North Korea’s New Early-Warning Radar Plane

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Mar 14, 2025

AF1 trump model
Air

Trump Mulls Options To Accelerate Delivery Of Air Force One Jets

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 20, 2025

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth utilized a Silver Bullet Command and Control module on his first overseas trip.
Air

C-17’s ‘Silver Bullet’ Airstream Trailer Pod Used By Secretary Of Defense Hegseth On First Overseas Trip

By Howard Altman

Posted on Feb 12, 2025

An Air Force C-32A VIP transport jet, on a special mission for President Donald Trump, had to delay its landing at Joint Base Andrews because F-16C Vipers were scrambled to intercept a drone.
Air

C-32 Forced To Delay Landing After F-16s Scrambled To Intercept Drone Near Capital

By Howard Altman

Posted on Jan 27, 2025

F-35Bs on san clémente island for austere operations training during Steel Knight exercise.
Air

We Went With Marine F-35Bs As They Fought A Mock War From A Pacific Island

By James Deboer

Updated on Jan 22, 2025

Navy’s Future E-130J TACAMO ‘Doomsday Plane’ Seen In New Rendering
Air

Navy’s Future E-130J TACAMO ‘Doomsday Plane’ Seen In New Rendering

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Dec 19, 2024

Bill Kennedy, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron transit alert, marshals a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 26, 2015. The aircraft is loaded with 69 members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team, their supplies and equipment, and six K-9s, to assist Nepal with rescue operations after the country was struck by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
Air

New Jersey Base Confirms Multiple Past Drone Incursions… By Contraband Smugglers

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on Dec 18, 2024