Aircraft

The Air Force is transferring F-16s and personnel from Kunsan Air Base to Osan Air Base to form a second “super squadron” in South Korea. The service describes the transfer as temporary and tied to a defined year-two trial.

The U.S. Air Force has authorized an extension to KC-46A production for up to 75 additional aircraft. Senior leaders announced this decision in the past two weeks to sustain the tanker recapitalization line once the current contract expires. Under the original 2011 agreement, the program of record has already expanded to 188 aircraft, reaching that contracts contractual ceiling. The new block of 75 planes sits atop the existing deal and carries the service into the next phase of its tanker roadmap.

The U.S. Air Force has decided to halt the E-7 Wedgetail airborne early-warning and control program, ending a three-year effort to replace the aging E-3 Sentry fleet with a more modern, radar-equipped 737 derivative. Defense officials disclosed the move during the FY-26 budget rollout, noting that expected unit cost had climbed from about $588 million to roughly $724 million and that the aircraft lacked the resilience needed in a highly contested battlespace.

The Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation has sent fresh shockwaves through the F-35 community. His memo to senior leaders says the Joint Strike Fighter remains far from its promised combat edge even though the U.S. Air Force just marked the jet “ready for war.” Engineers still chase hundreds of software defects, the 25 mm gun refuses to shoot straight, and the off-boresight missile link misbehaves whenever pilots swivel their helmets too far off center.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program has drawn thousands of reader remarks on Aviation Week since the aircraft reached initial service. The most pointed thread this week grew out of a comment by retired Marine officer Don Bacon. He noted that “150 to 160 modifications” sit between many early-build jets and the Block 3F standard that the U.S. services need for combat. His remark sparked fresh debate about concurrency, spiraling costs, and schedule risk.

The United Kingdom confirmed it will acquire at least twelve F-35A Lightning II fighters, adding a land-based nuclear mission to the Royal Air Force for the first time since 1998. Defense officials confirm the jets will form part of NATO’s Dual-Capable Aircraft program, which keeps U.S.-owned B61-12 bombs under shared control.

Slovakia has reached the point of decision after more than a decade of debate over its MiG-29 replacement. Formal offers now sit on the defence minister’s desk from two camps: Lockheed Martin with the F-16V Block 70/72 and Sweden’s Saab with the Gripen C/D. The ministry aims to brief the cabinet by 29 June and secure approval before Parliament rises for its summer recess.

Foreign air forces that bought the F-35A woke up this week to a blunt statement from Major Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, the U.S. Air Force officer who runs the program. He told Reuters on April 7 that engineers had started scoping a new radar, fresh avionics, and even a more efficient engine because present hardware “cannot keep pace with rapid technology advances by potential adversaries”. The jet is still a year from initial combat status, yet its core systems already trail the threat curve.

Early F-135 advocates promised a smooth learning curve. They said each production lot would cost less than the one before. Fresh data show the opposite. Unit prices still hover near $30 million, even though annual output has more than doubled since 2011.