Current Events

China has made very impressive progress in its air-to-air missile development, but these weapons remain relatively obscure in the West. The rapid pace of development across China’s military aircraft scene has been well documented, with Western observers keenly awaiting new designs and variants of existing ones, while manufacturing plants keep up a seemingly relentless pace of deliveries. What’s been less well covered, …

A Guide To China’s Increasingly Impressive Air-To-Air Missile Inventory Read More »

A 40-year-old war should not give China an arms-supply toehold in Latin America. On April 2, 1982, the Argentine junta sent heavily armed marines to take possession of the Malvinas Islands, the South Atlantic chain held for a century and a half by Britain. London responded with force and retook the islands in a 72-day …

Sell F-16s to Argentina Read More »

Air Force leaders want Airmen to train as they fight, but the barriers to executing true distributed mission operations are everywhere: simulators and networks need to communicate, combat systems need to talk to simulators, international partners need access to one or another component of the live, virtual, and constructive training continuum. The Air Force is looking for …

Unleashing Tech so Airmen Can ‘Train as They Fight’ Read More »

Each year the Pentagon spends billions of dollars upgrading older aircraft, buying new ones and developing super-secret next-generation capabilities. But in the op-ed below, FDD’s Bradley Bowman and Maj. Brian Leitzke argue that more needs to be done to ensure the Air Force has a steady supply of the most critical piece of the puzzle: pilots. …

Avoiding empty cockpits: Addressing the Air Force’s pilot shortage problem Read More »

Even as Sweden prepares to join NATO, Sweden’s air force has a problem. Its most experienced fighter pilots are quitting. “In the fall, around half of the Swedish Armed Forces’ fighter pilots may take leave or resign altogether,” the Swedish broadcaster SVT reported in July. One problem is a change to the retirement system, according to the …

NATO is eager for Sweden’s air force to join the alliance, but Swedish fighter pilots aren’t happy with their bosses Read More »

Aircraft simulators must evolve to meet the adversary threat, leaders from the 53rd Wing told Air Force Magazine. Once mainly used for initial qualification training, the Air Force is moving toward a paradigm of simulator training known as the “common synthetic environment” that will create non-proprietary, interchangeable training devices and environments for aircrews to train, …

Air Force to Expand Synthetic Environment for Mission Rehearsal, Testing, and Training Read More »

The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer and the Bulgarian Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov focussed their discussions on the current security situation and the recent decision to establish the new multinational battlegroup in Bulgaria. “The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has required that we assess and define options to further strengthen our defensive posture. We need to ensure …

Chair of the Military Committee commends Bulgaria for reinforcing NATO’s Collective Defence Read More »

Austin and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov held a joint press conference today in Bulgaria.  U.S. and Bulgarian forces are training together, and Bulgaria is also working on important defense modernization efforts as outlined in a bilateral 10-year roadmap for defense cooperation, the secretary said.  “Your commitment is a model for other allies to follow. …

Bulgaria Stands Up Multinational Battle Group Read More »