An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye with VAW-120 is refueled in the air. US Navy Photo
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — With production coming to an end in four years, the Navy is working out a plan to sustain the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye command-and-control aircraft for at least another 30. Read More
F/A-18F Super Hornets, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, fly over the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) in the Atlantic Ocean, May 9, 2019. US Navy Photo
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — If Congress mandates the Navy keep buying the current F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, the airframes will be in the fleet into the 2050s. But by then, the fourth-generation fighters likely couldn’t stand up to future threats, a service official said Tuesday. Read More
The MQ-25 T1 test asset refuels the Navy F/A-18 during a flight June 4 at MidAmerica Airport in Illinois. Boeing Photo
Lawmakers are asking the Navy to start adding capabilities to the emerging MQ-25A Stingray unmanned carrier tankers that are set to join the fleet in the next few years, service officials said. Read More
MQ-25 T1 test asset refuels a Navy F/A-18 during a flight on June 4, 2021 at MidAmerica Airport in Illinois. This flight demonstrated that the MQ-25 Stingray can fulfill its tanker mission using the Navy’s standard probe-and-drogue aerial refueling method. Boeing Photo
This post has been updated with additional comments from Boeing and the Navy.
A prototype unmanned aerial tanker refueled a F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter last week in a first-of-its-kind test ahead of introducing drones to the Navy’s carrier flight decks, Naval Air Systems Command and Boeing announced on Monday. Read More
AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 3 array in 2019. Northrop Grumman Photo
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. – With limited and costly ways for a surface warship to physically take out an incoming anti-ship missile, the Navy has been pursuing more ways a warship could use the power of electronic spectrum to splash threats. Read More
Chinese DF-26 missiles on display during a military parade in Tiananmen Square. Photo via globalsecurity.org
China, Russia, North Korea and Iran’s continued investment in modernizing cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles has left the United States “not in a very good position,” the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs said Tuesday. Read More
An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye with VAW-120 is refueled in the air. US Navy Photo
France will begin upgrading its E-2C Hawkeye fleet with the purchase of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, paving the way to a more capable carrier aviation fleet that’s more interoperable with the U.S. Navy. Read More
Boeing tested MQ-25A T1 prototype with a an aerial refueling store (ARS) on Dec. 9, 2020. Boeing Photo
An F/A-18 Super Hornet, attached to embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, breaks the sound barrier during an air power demonstration, showcasing firepower capability and maneuverability while at sea in the Indo-Pacific region in 2020. US Navy Photo
A decade from now, the backbone of the Navy’s tactical air fleet will begin to retire with no clear successor in line yet. Read More
The following is the Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program: An Introduction. Read More
