US Air Force – Page 6 – The Defense Post

Feb- 2026 -

24 February

Air

B-2 Spirit Modernization Advances With First Flight of SNC Comms Suite

SNC has completed the maiden flight of its Adaptable Communications Suite with the B-2 Spirit heavy strategic bomber aircraft.

24 February

Americas

Senior Airman Jenna Hayes, a loadmaster assigned to the 709th Airlift Squadron, and Taylor Kastenhuber, a traffic management office contractor with Criterion East, push a pallet of medical supplies bound for Honduras at Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station on Nov. 6, 2024. In total 32 pallets totaling nearly 8,000 pounds of cargo were transported in support of the Denton Program. (U.S. Air Force photo taken by Master Sgt. Jeffrey Grossi)

Rojoef Manuel

US Air Force Launches ‘SPEED CSO’ to Accelerate Commercial Tech Acquisition

The US Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center has launched a new acquisition pathway to accelerate the integration of advanced solutions into bases and mission support teams.

24 February

Air

Rojoef Manuel

General Atomics Names Loyal Wingman Prototype YFQ-42A ‘Dark Merlin’

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has selected “Dark Merlin” as the name for its YFQ-42A unmanned aerial system bid under the US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

24 February

Americas

Jodesz Gavilan

Northrop, US Air Force Accelerate B‑21 Raider Production

Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force are accelerating production of the B-21 Raider.

20 February

Americas

Inder Singh Bisht

BAE to Add Infrared Seeker to APKWS for USAF Counter-Drone Role

The US Air Force has contracted BAE Systems to develop and deliver an infrared-guided air-to-air counter-drone system.

20 February

Air

Christine Casimiro

Embraer and Northrop Partner to Develop KC-390 Refueling Boom, Pitch to US

Embraer and Northrop Grumman have joined forces to develop advanced tanking capabilities for the KC-390 Millennium aircraft, aiming to pitch it to the US and other allied nations.

18 February

Americas

Personnel lifting a thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) wafer

Rojoef Manuel

AFRL Taps Raytheon to Launch Photonics Wafer Production Line

The US Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Raytheon a contract to establish a local production line for thin-film lithium niobate wafers in support of advanced sensing and communications solutions.

17 February

Air

A U.S. Air Force 509th Bomb Wing B-2 Spirit approaches a 351st Aerial Refueling Squadron KC-135 Stratotanker during the Bomber Task Force training exercise over England, Aug. 29, 2019. The BTF consists of Airmen and support equipment from the 509th BW, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, deployed to The United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa to conduct theater integration and flying training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jordan Castelan)

Rojoef Manuel

Boeing to Replenish US Bunker Buster Bombs Used in Iran Strikes

Boeing has secured a contract worth over $100 million to supply Guided Bomb Unit and Massive Ordnance Penetrators for the US Air Force.

17 February

Air

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 452nd Logistics Readiness Squadron Aerial Port Flight at March Air Reserve Base, California, support loading operations of a next-generation nuclear reactor onto a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of Operation Windlord Feb. 15, 2026. The mission was conducted in coordination with Airmen from the 15th Airlift Squadron, 437th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and the 62nd Airlift Wing, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The aircraft transported the reactor to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in support of a Department of War and Department of Energy partnership focused on nuclear energy testing and evaluation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Wendy Day)

Rojoef Manuel

Pentagon Airlifts Microreactor to Utah in First C-17 Nuclear Transport

The US Department of Defense has airlifted a compact nuclear reactor from California to Utah, marking the first time a C-17 military transport aircraft has transported a nuclear microreactor.

16 February

Americas